


Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

by James_Moriarty



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Don't copy to another site, F/F, F/M, Isekai, Otome Isekai, POV Female Character, mother - Freeform, reincarnated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2020-10-25 04:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 36,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20718080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/James_Moriarty/pseuds/James_Moriarty
Summary: After giving birth to her first daughter, Rosanne Dragonroot remembers all of her previous life in "our world", and realizing she has reincarnate in the world of an otome game called "Promises of an Enchanted Hearth", in which her daughter serves as the villainess/rival. Will she be able to raise her properly and avoid all the bad endings?Cover art: https://imgur.com/a/9S2dXvb





	1. How to raise a villainess properly?

I was exhausted. I knew beforehand that delivering a baby was not easy task, and I thought I had made the proper arrangements. I had gotten more than enough nurses, a doctor with lots of years of expertise, and even a priest. I just couldn't get rid of the feeling that something might go wrong. And apparently, my prophecies became true, the whole ordeal took several hours, and my condition worsened quickly. Apparently, I was dead for a few minutes. By the time I regained my senses, the baby had already been cleaned and wrapped on a piece of cloth. I was still hazy and confused, but I wanted to hold her. She was absolutely the cutest baby I had seen, I wanted to pinch her puffy cheeks and hug her for the rest of my life. But... there was still something on the back of my head that was bothering me.

—Madame Rossane —one of my attendants called me, though I was still too confused to know who she was.

She was presenting me with a legal document to register my child's name. That was normally left for the father or any other family member, but I was her only living relative. Thankfully, I had filled the form beforehand, I just needed to sign it and be over with it. But as my eyes passed through the document trying to find the dotted line, something caught my attention.

—Violett Dragonroot? Isn't a bit too cruel to name her like that?

—Whatever might you mean, madame? That's the name you and your late husband choose for her, isn't it? And since your family has a more noble ancestry, it is stipulated that she will inherit your last name.

—I... I know, but, isn't a bit of bad luck to call her like that? At the very least it is tacky. I mean, really? like the villainess of an otome game?

—Madame, what might you be talking about?

—Huh? What... —I started to feel nauseous, as suddenly all of my memories started to rush to me.

My name was Rossane Dragonroot, the only living member of the ancient Dragonroot clan. I had lived as such for 26 years, married someone out of political interest and getting pregnant just before he had to go and die in a meaningless conflict. But before all of that, I had lived another life, in another world. I was what is known as an office lady, and an closet otaku to boost. I would spend all of my free time reading mangas and playing videogames, and I was still efficient at my work, somehow. I... never had a family of my own. I just told myself I could do it later, talking with people outside of work was too bothersome. Then I died, rather suddenly I think... I don't quite remember. As my mind ran through all of my memories, I was breathing hard and shaking. When they tried to take the baby away from me, I came back to my senses. I took a deep breath, and put on a gentle smile.

—I am sorry if I scared everyone, I got confused for a moment. I am fine now, so please, leave us alone for the moment.

They still did seem a bit worried, but they give me a slight bow and obeyed my command. As soon as the door closed, I dropped my act of noble mature woman and practically melted on my bed. The baby was lying over my chest. She was named exactly as the villainess of an otome game I was played before I, well, died. It was called Promises of an Enchanted Heart, and it followed the clichés and tropes expected of such games. The protagonist was born as a commoner, adopted by a cruel noble family after they found she had great talent on Holy Magic. They wanted to use her, and treated her as crap, only giving her some liberty when she entered the Magic Academy. There, she had her fated meeting with one of five possible romantic partners. My child, on the other hand, was a pampered and spoiled girl who was accustomed to get everything she wished for, and after a slight offense caused by the protagonist, she would dedicate herself to make her life miserable and steal her love interest, even though she was promised to marry the prince. What's more, even if the protagonist conquered the hearth of her love interest, if the villainess wasn't confronted and stopped she would end up practically destroying the kingdom through the use of the unique magic inherited by her family, one that was able to summon powerful dragons to do her bidding.

—Ah, but I know that already —I said to myself.

The Dragoonroot clan had become nobles for such feat in a great war a long time ago, but had since forgotten how to use it. In recent generations, we had even fallen into economic problems. That was the reason why I had married someone who had a lesser noble standing, but had more resources. It was kind of shameful to look back and see that I was spoiled myself, and had married someone just to keep the lifestyle I thought I deserved. I haven't even cared that much when he died, as my future was already secured...

I... made a mental note to visit his tomb more often.

—What am I going to do? If I don't stop this, a lot of people are going to be hurt...

A dark though started to form on my mind, but I couldn't even dare to let it finish forming. I pinched my cheeks and shook my head, and then I picked Violett up and rubbed my other cheek against her.

—Don't worry, Violett, Mama has a plan. You surely won't become a villainess if I raise you properly! —I said, but stopped abruptly —So, how is one supposed to raise a kid properly?


	2. Welcome to the human race.

In the following days, I asked one of my attendants, Sophie, to look out for book on raising children and taking care of babies. I knew I could trust her to be discreet, she was one of the few attendants that had come with me when I married, and she had been working for me since she was just a kid. The other attendant would try to insist in me letting them take care of the baby, but I didn't wanted to let her alone even for a moment. And about the books, there wasn't really anything that I didn't already knew from my previous live, except maybe some first aid procedures that I took the time to memorize. The understanding of infant psychology in this world was... lacking, to say it in kind words. My own wasn't that much better, though. I would have to figure things on my own.

At the moment, I was "confined" to my room, as my attendants had caught sight of me walking a bit too much, which they told me it was dangerous. The birth had been difficult, but I remember hearing one could walk after a day or two. I was feeding Violett, while trying to remember as much as I could do from my past live. Stories about people traveling to other worlds had the recurrent theme of them helping with their advanced knowledge, bringing machines and mechanism and such, so I consider doing it too, but it was more difficult than expected. I knew how several things worked, but there were lots of individual parts I didn't know the specifics, or I was unaware of a few steps on their development. I was very grateful that sickness could be cured with magic, and that with my status getting a doctor wasn't a problem, because I had no idea how to make soap.

I was getting lost on that train of thoughts, when a pain in my chest brought me back to reality. Violett was being too forceful, so to speak, and it was starting to hurt. I took her away and looked at her eyes; she seemed almost offended that I had interrupted her meal, and even started to shake her arms and legs in a little tantrum. She wasn't even a week old, and she was already becoming a spoiled kid, I needed to be stricter with her. But, well, she was still just a baby. And she was absolutely adorable, even when burrowing her tiny eyebrows. I kissed her forehead and placed her so she could drink from my other breast. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

—Madame, I brought your lunch —Sophie said from the other side.

—Come in, please.

I had thought she was going to bring me something light, like she had been doing these past days, but now she was pushing a trolley full of plates. She must have read the surprise in my face.

—Might you excuse me, madame, it looked like you weren't being fulfilled by the amount of your previous meals, so I took the liberty of bringing you plenty this time. Should I return it to the kitchen?

—No way! —I said, almost drooling due to the delicious smell.

I bit my tongue. She was right; I was practically starving at that point, only having eaten soft and mushy food in minuscule quantities. Even so, that wasn't enough reason to regress to my previous life's customs; I had been raised to always act like a lady.

— I mean, that won't be necessary. If anything, you could have asked me to go to the dining hall, it is pretty far from here to have you push the trolley all the way from the kitchen.

—It was better than leaving the Madame walking all the way to there. Maybe after eating this you might recover enough strength.

—Then I'll thank you for your consideration — I said with a smile.

Violett was already drowsy by that point, so I made her burp, and put her on the cradle that I had asked to be placed next to my bed. Sophie handed me a tray with legs, so I could eat without having to get up, but just after I had placed a few plates and a glass of water over it, I saw Violett throwing me a glare.

—Aren't you forgetting something —she seemed to be saying with her expression.

—Ah, I got it, I got it —I said.

After moving the tray away, I took Violett once more and put her against my chest, so she could hear my heartbeat as I sang her a lullaby. I had found myself murmuring that tune when I was pregnant, and later found out she wouldn't sleep until I sang it to her. She was deep sleep in less than a minute, so I placed her once more in her cradle. I look at her sleeping face for a moment, until the growl on my stomach made me remember I still hadn't eaten anything, and more than anything, that Sophie was still on the room.

—F-forget what you just saw —I said, covering my face with a pillow.

—But Madame, your voice was lovely —she said, getting a bit too close—, and I have never heard a song like that, could have you came up with it?

—No, it is... something my mother used to sing to me.

—Lady Teresa did? If I'm allowed to be honest, she didn't seem to be the type to do such thing.

—Of course not, I'm talking about my mo... —I stopped mid-sentence.

I was speaking of the person who had raised me on my previous live. She was still alive when I died; I had called her just a few days before...

—No, never mind, I think I was remembering it wrong. A nanny might have sung it to me when I was very young.

—I see —Sophie said with a smile, and didn't ask any further.

I told her she could leave, but she insisted on staying while I was eating, "just in case". We talked about a few irrelevant things while I was eating and she was cleaning the room a bit. I couldn't eat everything she had brought, but I tasted a bit of every plate, which was enough to satisfy my sense of taste. I felt bad for leaving leftovers, though.

—It will be a bit unsanitary to give it to other people, and we don't have animals. I wonder if we could build a compost bin...

—A compost bin? —she asked.

I bit my tongue. I wasn't sure if that was something that already existed on this world or if it was completely unheard of. She had already heard me mentioned, so I still tried my best to explain what it was to Sophie.

—And once it decomposes, it serves to make flowers, plants, and trees more strong and beautiful.

—That sounds incredible, Madame —she said with a big smile, and then got lost on her thoughts for a moment— Now that I think about it, there is a greenhouse on the back of the property. If we restore it using that compost thing, we could take Violett there.

I almost jumped out of the bed.

—That sounds amazing! —I said, holding Sophie hands. I must have had a huge smile on my face.

—R-really?

—Yeah!

If Violett had a place like that, she could admire the beauty of nature. And once she grew up a bit, we could work on the garden together, and we could have tea parties over there. Having a special place like that will certainly help her to avoid becoming a villainess, right? What's more, she would look adorable on both working clothes and pretty dresses.

—Ma-madame? —Sophie said, making me return to reality.

—Ah, excuse me —I said, letting go of her hands and returning to the hands.

—I don't mind it; it's just that I haven't seen the Madame smile so happily before.

—I... never did, right?

Of course I hadn't, I had been training to be the model of a noble woman ever since I had started walking and talking, so outburst like those were prohibited. I was taught how to have the perfect gentle smile, but I suppose it was never an honest smile. I could only deviate from my persona of Rossane because I had recently recovered my past life's memories. There wasn't too much information on the game about Violett's mother, except the implications of her screwing the development of her child. I didn't wanted to be like her, but how exactly alike were we?

Sophie must have noticed my worries and held my hands.

—Madame, I was worried about you. You have always doing your best, but you never have enjoyed yourself, haven't you? So it really makes me happy to see you happy, and I have to thank our young lady Violett for that.

—Sophie... —I was moved by her words, and tried to say something. Before I could arrange my thoughts, however, the door was forced open rather suddenly.

—Madame —spoke the head maid of the mansion, Carmelia, with that stern tone hat was so characteristic of her —I have received informs of you not resting properly, and even thinking of working on the old green house. That is not acceptable for a lady of your position. I have tolerated your insistence of keeping Lady Violett next to you, but I'm afraid you might be letting your emotions blind your judgment. And you, Miss Sophie, had been ignoring your duties and doing whatever you please taking advantage of you being in good terms with the Madame, and on top of them you have been feeding her things that are too heavy for her.

—Well, I... —Sophie tried to defend herself, but couldn't think of anything.

I could see five or six maids peaking through the door, murmuring and chatting. They were Carmelia's closet circle, and were especially loyal to her, even among all the maids that were working on that house before I married their previous lord. They must have been eavesdropping in our conversation and informed Carmelia about it.

—It seems —the head maid said—, that we are going to have to be a bit sterner on this house, starting with moving Lady Violett to her own roo—

—That's enough, Carmelia —I said, with my voice raised enough to shock the head maid.

—M-madame, I'm only thinking of what is best for... —she attempted to rebuttal, but she stopped when our eyes met. She could probably see that I was pissed off, even when I was trying to disguise it.

—You are going over your limits, Carmelia. I respect the work you have done for my late husband's family for years, but don't misunderstand your position, you are the head maid, and I'm the head of the family, your boss. I don't want you or any of your troupe ever again attempt to tell me what I should do. And Sophie is my personal attendant, as she is someone I trust and care for, so she will respond only to me. Am I being clear?

—Y-yes, Madame.

I told her to get out of my room in the most civil way I could muster at that moment, and just after the door was closed, I practically melted again into my bed.

—I can't deal with people...

—That was amazing! —Sophie said— I haven't seen anyone talk back to her! And I also have never seen you get angry at anyone.

Of course I would get angry, she was trying to take away my baby. Well, she only wanted to move her to her own room, but soon would she also want me to let a Nanny raise her instead of me, and she would end up becoming a villainess. I couldn't let that happen.

I was exhausted, so I asked Sophie to leave us alone for the moment. I got closer to Violet's crib, and passed my hand through the bars until I reached her. Feeling her breathing made me relax. I closed my eyes, planning to visit the market to get everything I would need to revive the greenhouse, but I feel asleep at some point.


	3. To the Garden.

After that time, Carmelia stopped trying to impose herself as the lady of the house, yet, she kept pestering me with “suggestions” whenever she found me acting in what she considered improper or incorrect. 

—Madame, it would be better if you rest on your back when you sleep —she said the time she came to wake me up and found me sideways hugging a pillow. 

—Madame, that kind of food isn’t too healthy, try to eat it with moderation —she said when she caught me eating one too many sugary pastries. 

—Madame, at least let the other attendants help you when you bathe Lady Violett —she said when… you get the point. 

Since I could dismiss her opinions now, it was less stressful and a bit more tolerable to have her around. I have even gotten her approval to walk around the house, but there was one topic she wouldn’t relent, I still couldn’t go out.

—Madame, you went through a whole ordeal when you gave birth to Lady Violett, and the Doctor said your defenses would take some time to recover. I can’t allow you to leave the house until he gives you his approval. 

—But I have been locked inside for almost a week, I need some fresh air. Can I not even go to the garden? 

She stopped for a moment to consider it, as I tried to make a face as sad as possible.

—I suppose… the garden is fine —she said, and I almost jump from the joy—¸as long as we take some precautions so you don’t caught any bad miasma. And of course, Lady Violett needs to stay indoors. 

I bit my tongue. I didn’t know if that “bad miasma” was a real thing in this world or just the explanation they gave to sickness caused by germs, bacteria, or virus. In any case, I thought I could probably deal with it, but Violett was indeed too young. I wanted to be absolutely sure she would be fine, so I would wait for the Doctor before taking her out. 

—Fine —I said, accepting the compromise—, Sophie, could you take care of Violett while I’m gone?

—Eh? Me? —she asked, incredulously. 

—Of course you —I said, getting up from the bed. She might be the less experienced and younger attendant, but she was the one I trusted the more. Of course, I couldn’t say that aloud.

Carmelia went out of the room and returned after a few minutes, bringing with her gloves, a facemask, and even a cane to help me walk. I could say a lot of things about her personality, but I couldn’t complain about her attention to details. While she was gone, I had been telling Sophie everything she needed to know about taking care of Violett. 

—She is sleeping right now, so she should be fine for at least half an hour more. Now, if she wakes up and makes this face —I said, burrowing my eyebrows and pouting—, it means you need to change her diaper, but if she opens and closes her mouth and swings her arms, it means she is hungry. Call me if that happens. 

—Aren’t babies supposed to cry when they get hungry?

—Hmmm, I suppose, but I don’t think I have heard Violet crying since she was born —I said, getting closer to her crib—, maybe she is too proud for that, just what you’ll expect of a villainess.

—Madame?

—Ah, no, it’s nothing —I said. I was pretty sure I was murmuring that, so I wanted to believe she hadn’t heard what I had said. 

I put on the gloves and the facemask, and held onto the cane, giving a glance to the interior of my room before leaving it. It was the first time I was going to leave Violett alone, and I felt anxious already, but I was doing it for her benefit. After all, me going to the garden was nothing more than an excuse. I had bigger plans. 

—Now, would you like for me to prepare the gazebo or to set up the chairs on the lawn? Should I ask an attendant to bring you a book? —Carmelia asked as we walked towards the garden.

—None of that, I won’t take that much time. Just a quick peak, to see how much of a mess it really is. 

—T-the garden, Madame? 

—No —I said, opening the doors a bit too dramatically and letting the breeze enter the room—, the greenhouse. 

—Madame, the garden is fine, but entering the greenhouse is a completely different thing. I can allow you to go there. 

—I won’t be entering it, I won’t even touch it. Just looking from outside should be fine.

I had been walking, and reached the end of the concrete slab. I wanted to take my shoes off and step on the grass, but I knew Carmelia would never approve of it. I made a mental note, however, that it would be the perfect place for a picnic. I shook my head to focus, and set my gaze on my objective. Our property went beyond our garden, into the woods that surrounded the house. There wasn’t a wall, but there was a magic forcefield that kept wolves and other beings from ever reaching us. On the very edge of the barrier, almost absorbed by the forest, there was something that I had thought was just an abandoned shed. The glass walls were so covered in dust and mud that they looked like wood from the distance. 

—Could you open the door, Carmelia? —I asked when we reached the front of the greenhouse.

—It would be my pleasure, Madame —she said, but neither her tone nor expression matched her words. She must have been glad she was also wearing gloves. 

I was expecting to be assaulted by a rancid smell as soon as she opened the door, but it only smelt like an old place with bad ventilation. There was a broken glass panel on the ceiling, so any gas that had accumulated would have escaped through it. There were lots of pots, but they didn’t had anything resembling a plant or flower anymore. There was mold, and I thought I saw some fungi growing from a wooden table. I made sure Carmelia stood away from the door, covering her mouth, just in case. After I had finished my inspection, I asked her to close the door and we returned to the house. She immediately threw her gloves into the trash, washed her hands, and put a new clean pair of gloves. 

I sat in front of the table, next to the still open door, basking on the light of the sun. There was a plate of cookies near, so I helped myself with one. Carmilla threw a glare towards me, but with resignation she started to make tea and poured me a cup while I took another cookie. 

—Might you been satisfied, Madame? —she said, and for a moment I thought she was talking about the cookies, and not about the greenhouse. I’m still not entirely sure she didn’t mean it both ways—. I told the late master several times that we should have gotten rid of it… 

—I’m indeed satisfied, and thus, I would appoint you with the important job of restoring it. 

—Ma-madame? Wouldn’t it be better if we dispose of it and remake it entirely?

—Perhaps, but that could take lots of time. And besides, if Arthur didn’t wanted to dispose of it, there might have been a reason for it —I said, it felt weird to say its name—, I want to believe that was the kind of man he was. 

—Madame…

—Ah, but I’m not against remodeling it on the future, maybe expanding it so we can grow lots of plants.

—Madame… —she said again, in a different tone. 

I managed to make her accept this job by pointing to the fact that she didn’t had to make it personally, but have the other attendants do it for her. 

—Just make sure they wear gloves and facemasks too. Everything that has moss or fungi should be burned, and we can wash it from the outside with a hose.

—With a hose? —she said, and for a moment, I thought I had committed another anachronism—, won’t it be more efficient if we get someone who can use water magic to clean it for us? Otherwise, pumping it to have enough force will require an outstanding strength that I’m not sure anyone in this houses posses. 

—Ah! That’s brilliant! —I had completely forgotten that magic users lived on this world. 

While we were finishing the details of the cleaning project, a maid come toward us. She was Iridia, one of the attendants that were part of Carmelia’s posse, but she had been very polite and respectful towards me and Sophie since we move in. 

—Madame, Miss Carmelia, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but we have a visitor —she quietly said—. Doctor Conrad has arrived.


	4. Physical and emotional health

I had gone back to my room as fast as I could, while Carmelia had gone to greet the Doctor and subtly delay him just a bit. After all, we didn't have his expressed approval for me to even leave the room yet. He arrived just after I had set myself on the bed as if I had been there all day, and even acted as if Sophie and I were in the middle of a conversation.

—Good afternoon, Doctor —I said with my most polite smile after asking Sophie to leave us alone.

—Madame Dragonroot, let's not waste time with frivolities —he said, placing his bag on the table next to my bed.

As always, this man had terrible bedside manners. Even so, I couldn't complain, he was the best doctor I could afford. He was Maxwell Conrad, someone who could be called a prodigy even when he was only 24 years old. It was no surprise he would end up as the director of the Royal Academy in which Promises of an Enchanted Hearth is set, some 15 years from now.

I have been calling him a doctor all this time, and while that was his official title and an accurate description of his job, he was a bit different from the doctors on my past life. For starters, his knowledge on medicine was roughly the same from my world before the industrial revolution. To make it up for this, he was a genius using healing magic.

—Now, show me your arm and hold it in place —he said, and I felt a shiver run through my back.

The unique combination of magic and technology of this world also applied to the instruments and tools everyone used, and that included medical instruments. For Maxwell in particular, the best way to check the condition of his patients was by using his familiar, Sylphie, which happened to be a phyton. I had almost passed out when he checked my vitals the first time, especially because he didn't warn me at all, as for him it was nothing more than a stethoscope. But after several check-ups during my pregnancy, I had become accustomed to the snake. She was, after all, rather small and well mannered. I still had to look away and breathe slowly when it started to wrap herself around my arm.

—Your blood pressure looks fine —he said after what it seemed like an eternity—, your flow of mana is a bit erratic, but it is nothing to be alarmed. It should go to normal once you return to your daily activities.

—Does that mean I can leave the house?

—I don't see why not, just keep using those gloves and facemasks for a month or so if you happen to go to the city, or somewhere with a lot of people.

I looked down, I was still wearing the gloves from earlier, and the facemask was resting on my neck. He didn't seem to suspect or care about why I was wearing them inside of my room, though. I was just happy I now could move as I pleased, and I couldn't wait to rub it in Carmelia's face. In a proper and lady-like manner, of course.

—Ah! —I almost yelled, as a thought crossed my mind—, what about Violett? Can I take her along?

The Doctor, who had been writing a report about my state, paused and directed his gaze towards me, as if processing what I had just said. His reaction wasn't entirely unexpected, other noble woman in this world probably left their babies in the complete care of their servants. I knew the woman that had brought me into this world had done just that.

—Let me check how she is doing —he said and walked around the bed towards Violett's crib, with Sylph still hanging from his arm.

I jumped out of bed and grabbed my baby, putting her away from him.

—Madame? Is something wrong? —he said, and something about his tone of voice made me return to my senses. He sounded genuinely concerned.

—N-no, I just... thought it would be easier if I held her this way.

—I see, thank you.

I breathed deeply and walked towards him. Sylphie immediately moved towards my Violett, and rested her head over her tiny chest. I was terrified, I wanted to close my eyes and look away, but I couldn't afford to do it. The chances of her attacking Violett were almost non-existent; she was a familiar being, which meant it was bound to Conrad's will. And if in the case it decided to attack, there was little I could do before it was too late. But I still couldn't abandon my daughter. Before I knew, however, it was already over.

—She is a very healthy baby, there shouldn't be a problem as long as you cover her mouth as well —he said, petting Violett's head.

—I'm so glad —I said, feeling almost as if I was melting from the relief.

Violet was waking up at that moment, perhaps because I spoke too loud or moved her a bit too much. She didn't even look at me; she instantly tried to grab Sylphie. As expected of a future villainess, she wasn't scared of a python. I moved a step away, and now she did direct a glare at me, but only to pout for not letting her play with her new scaly friend. I couldn't help but giggle at her expressions, remembering too late that the Doctor was still on the room. He didn't seem to mind it, and he left shortly after. After feeding Violett, I called Sophie and Carmelia to inform them of his verdict.

—With that being said, there won't be any excuse for me or Violett to leave the house, right? —I said, trying to not let my smugness show too much.

—There will be not one —Carmelia said with resignation.

—YOSH! —I said, pumping my fist.

I held Violett on my arms and spun a couple of times.

—You heard that? We can go outside! We can go to the lake, and to that nice restaurant in the city. And once the greenhouse is all clean, we can work on it together, isn't it wonderful? Ah! But we need to go to the market's district to get everything we need, tools, fertilizer, seeds...

—Madame —Carmelia interrupted—¸ I'll prepare for your outing, but perhaps would you reconsider leaving it until tomorrow.

She was pointing towards the window behind me, from where the sky was visible. There were still a few hours of light, but it took an hour to reach the city from our property, and every shop would be closing or closed already. Even if there would exists a 24-hour convenience shop like in my old world, it would be too dangerous for a mother and her baby girl to roam the streets at that hour. I ended up agreeing to delay our visit to the city, but I barely slept that night due to the anticipation. The next morning, I was up and doing some light exercise even before Sophie came to wake me up. Carmelia was already waiting me when I went to the dining hall for my breakfast.

—Madame, everything is arranged for your departure —she said—, we can go as soon as you are ready.

—Oh! Then I better hurry up! —I said, attempting to eat as fast as I could.

—Please take your time to enjoy the food the kitchen staff did with all of their hearts.

—... yes.

—Also, it might be improper to go to the city with the clothes you are wearing now.

—What is wrong with my clothes? —I said, before really looking at them.

I was still wearing what I could only be described as pajamas. I had been wearing clothes like that since at least a month before delivering Violett, so I had gotten more or less accustomed to wear them all day by that point. I had to agree I couldn't wear those outside, it would impact horribly on my reputation, which I didn't really care for, but it will eventually also affect Violett. She might grow to hate me if I embarrassed her like that.

—I will not let you down, Violett; your mama is going to be a proper example of what being a noble lady is! —I said with conviction.

There was a problem though; I never have had much on the sense of style. In my previous life I only wore office attires for my job, giving the impression that I was a proper adult, but on my free time, I just wore whatever I had clean. And after being reborn, it was the job of the attendants to choose what I had to wear.

—Isn't this a bit too much? —I remember having said once when I was young, getting ready for a tea party.

They had made me wear a dress full of ribbons and jewels, as well as made me wear all sort of accessories; necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, all equally sumptuous. My hair was also too stylized, with even more accessories on it. I looked like a wedding cake.

—Of course not, young lady —they said, as always.

And, to be fair, I didn't look too out of place among the other daughters of the nobility. I still feel too stiff and awkward to talk with anyone outside of people I already knew.

But one day, we got a new employee, Sophie. She was even younger than me, but from the very start, she was able to see that wearing those kinds of clothes made me feel uncomfortable.

—Madame —she said to my mother on another occasion—, please allow me to choose the attire for the young lady this night. My family used to run a tailor shop, I'm confident I'll be able to coordinate a dress that allows her to have more confidence.

—Hmmm —my mother looked at us with disdain—, do whatever you want, you are old enough to carry your own reputation.

Those words made me shiver, since I was a kid, I had been told I was carrying the legacy of the Dragonroot clan. Any mistake I would do, I would bring shame to our family. But Sophie just smiled.

—That means we got her approval!

She fulfilled her promise and chose a dress and accessories that made me look elegant and formal, with a minimalist approach. I didn't wanted to let her effort go in vain, and I did feel better wearing that, so I tried my best to fulfill mother's expectations and talked with a lot of people, making a few connections that I would maintain even to this day. Neither mother nor the other attendants bothered us after that.

—Sophie —I spoke in the present—, will you help me choose my clothes today as well?

She smiled.

—Of course!


	5. Childhood friend.

I twirled a bit in front of the mirror, satisfied with the rather simple, light green-tinted, dress that Sophie has chosen for me, with a long-wing sun hat with a cute flower as decoration. Of course, I had to wear the facemask and gloves, but if I only had dark glasses, I would look like an incognito celebrity.

—How do I look? —I asked to the two attendants that were in the room with me.

—It suits you very well, madame —Sophie said, showering me with unconditional support as always.

—It’s decent enough —Carmelia dryly added.

That was fine, as long as she didn’t outright rejected it, I knew I wouldn’t be embarrassing Violett.

—Now, for today’s special feature, the cutest baby of the whole country! —I picked her up from her crib and presented her to the audience.

She was wearing a light blue dress, a bit too fluffy and with a few too many ribbons. She also had matching mittens and socks, and a hat similar to mine.

—Approved —Carmelia said, a hint of a smile drawn on her face.

—So cute~ —Sophie added.

I agreed with that sentiment, but…

—Isn’t it a bit too much? —I asked.

I had chosen the attire mostly by myself, but I was staring to fear I was falling into the same vice that the maids from my old home had.

—Babies are meant to be dressed like this, like puffy marshmallows—Sophie said—. We’ll take her opinion on consideration once she is a bit more grown up.

That made me feel relief, and now we were finally ready to leave. Yes, we. Carmelia had chosen unilaterally that I had to be accompanied by a group of attendants.

—It is too dangerous to leave a noble woman as yourself alone in the city, even in broad daylight. Besides, we can help you carry whatever you might buy, and help you take care of Violet, and…

—It’s fine, I understand.

—Huh? —Carmelia seems really confused by my reply.

I would really like to be able to move freely, but I wasn’t going to risk Violett just for being stubborn. Also, it was true that I would be going to need help carrying all the stuff, considering the list I had wrote the night before. We might even have to ask the goods to be delivered at our home, even if it could take a couple of days for them to arrive. Our transport had a limited size, only being able to carry six person maximum, and a bit of luggage on the back.

—Four of us will go with you —Carmelia said once she had regained her composure—. That means me, of course, and I suspect you will like to take Miss Sophie along too.

The other two were Iridia and Nora, the latter who had been a guard for some time before starting to work for my late husband. She was still carrying a sword with her all the time, and was quite proficient with it. She was our expedition group’s unofficial bodyguard.

—You can relax and enjoy your trip, Madame, I’ll make sure both you and your daughter are safe —Nora said, this was probably the first time I had spoken to her directly.

—I’ll be counting on you, then.

Another maid came and whispered something to Carmelia. She looked a bit shaken up.

—Er, Madame, as requested, Mr. Adrian is ready whenever you would like to depart —Carmelia said.

—Oh! Then let’s go to the pier right now.

I moved to grab a bag I had prepared, full of diapers, a change of clothes, and almost everything else I thought I could think that Violett could need in our trip. Sophie moved faster, and insisted on carrying herself. Without being able to say anything more, we left the house and walked through the paved road towards the pier. Our country was blessed by several rivers and lakes, as well as many man-made waterways, so many that people traveled through boats more efficiently and more often than by plain old roads. Our one-hour travel might take us at least half a day if we were to use a carriage, and it would certainly be a bumpier ride.

Of course, having these water highways meant nothing if we didn’t had anything to move the boats through them. Motors hadn’t been invented yet, and sails wouldn’t work reliably. So what moved our boats? Simply, pure brute strength. Most people used Kelpies, a creature that resembled a horse-mermaid, but others had marine snakes or other fancier creatures. The Dragonroot had Adrian.

—Adrian! Yahoooo! —I yelled when we were close enough to the river for him to hear me.

—Lady Rossane, Good morning! —Our “chafeur” replied.

He had been floating in the river right next to our boat, reading a paper, but got up and out of the water after I called him, closing the distance between us in seconds. He picked me up on his arms and made me sit on one of his shoulders, as he had done many times when I was a kid.

—Oh, so this is your baby, isn’t she adorable? —He said when I proudly showed Violett to him.

—Of course she is, I made her! —I said, and we both had a laugh, loud enough to awaken the baby. She just glared at us.

—Ma-madame, ple-please be careful… —Nora said, her hand firmly holding the handle of her still sheated sword.

—Huh? What do you mean? I’m perfectly safe.

—But, madame…

—There is nothing to be worried —Sophie interceded—, Mr. Adrian has worked for the Dragonroot for generations; there is nothing to be worried.

I still couldn’t understand why Nora was so worried. Even Carmelia and Iridia looked shaken up, though they tried to hide it and remained stoic. I tried to put it on perspective, thinking not as Rossane but as my previous life’s self. It was only then that I noticed I was sitting on the shoulder of a giant alligator-like beastman. I had known him all my life and I had ridden him even when I was a baby myself, so I didn’t see anything wrong or weird about it until now. I still trusted him, for me he was just like an older uncle who happened to be scaly, have very pointing claws and teeth, and was three meters tall. I started to wonder if Violett had inherited her villainess’ genes from my part of the family…

—I’ll try to go slow for the baby, but tell me if it still too fast —Adrian said, after we had gotten up on our boat.

—Got it, let’s go! —I said, and felt the sudden increase of speed.

Carmelia was clawing her fingers on her seat. Iridia was smiling nervously, and Nora was holding tight to her sword. Sophie was too accustomed to it, and was just enjoying the scenery. I was enjoying the rollercoaster-like speed, and for her expression, Violett was too. Only forty minutes after leaving our property we were already reaching the city’s port.

—That’s a new record —Sophie said.

—Let’s try to break it when we return! —Adrian replied, now swimming slowly towards an available dock.

—L-let’s not… —Carmelia said, and both Iridia and Nora nodded in agreement.

They didn’t let me get off the boat before I promised our return will be slower. Once I did set foot on the wooden planks, I stretched my arms, one at a time to keep Violett on the other. Of course, both of us were wearing facemasks, I had gloves, and Violett was still wearing her cute mittens, even when she would occasionally try to bite them and release her hands. It’s not like she was going to be touching anything, but I still needed to keep an eye on her.

—The doctor said you don’t need to use a facemask, but gloves would be recommended. —I told them, and each put on a pair of gloves.

One of our chefs was able to use “Purify”, so even if they attracted some bad miasma or bacteria, she would be able to clean them when we returned, it was only me and Violett who were in direct risk.

—I feel a bit redundant —Nora said—, it’s kind of pointless for me to have come if you had Mr. Adrian to protect you.

—Oh? He isn’t coming to the city —I bluntly said.

—Eh? Why?

—I’m not good with places with lots of people —Adrian answered himself, rummaging through a compartment in the boat—, I have a few books I can read, so you can take as long as you want. Ah, but if you do need help, just call me and I’ll be there in a second.

I nodded and walked away, barely being able to contain my excitement. It had been almost five months since I had come to the city, and there were lots of places I wanted to visit. Just before I was able to set a foot on the city itself, a pair of spears suddenly blocked my way.

—Halt! —said one of the soldiers holding the spears, in a very loud and demanding voice—, identify yourself.

I growled, seeing red. How dared he speaking in that tone after daring to get his weapon close to my baby.

—How imprudent! —Carmelia said before I could said anything else—, you are disrespecting Madame Rossane Dragonroot, heir of the Dragonroot’s clan, and current head of the Cygnus’ fiefdom.

She was almost as pissed off as me, but a lot more eloquent. The guards immediately backed up a bit, confused, but their spears were still blocking my path.

—N-no, that’s impossible —the other guard said—, the heir of the Dragonroot’s clan would never appear in the city wearing such a simple dress, much less carrying a baby! We’ll take you in for interrogation!

She tried to grab my free wrist, but my attendants blocked her attempt. I also heard the water behind me moving, Adrian getting out of the water and getting ready to get involved.

—What might this uproar be all about? —a gentle voice said, as she approached.

The guards jumped on surprise, turned towards the newcomer, and kneeled.

—Your Majesty, we caught someone pretending to be the heir of the Dragonroot’s clan.

—Hmmm, I see —the very pregnant woman got closer, enough for us to see her, despite the warning of her guards —Is it really you, Rossane?

She was, without doubts, the Queen Erzebeth III. My attendants also took a knee when they recognized her, but I just bowed my head.

—It’s a pleasure to see you healthy, Your Majesty —I said in a very formal and respectful tone.

I raised my head and I saw the Queen barely able to contain a giggle. Her expression made me laugh, and she started clacking in response.

—Y-your Majesty? —the guards worriedly asked.

—I… I am fine —the Queen said between wheezes.

—Madame, could you explain yourself a bit? —Carmelia asked.

—Allow me —Erzebeth spoke, having regained her composure—, Rossane and I have known each other since we were kids.


	6. This must be the place

By her request, we had followed the Queen and her entourage of maids and guards to a nearby coffee shop, to “catch up”. Most of the store’s patrons left after paying their respects to the queen, probably intimidated by her Highness’ presence. I felt a bit bad for the owner, but they could probably presume their store was visited by the queen afterwards. By the way we were attended, it seemed like the Queen was a regular client, though.  
She was very close to her deliver date, so she had apparently decided to go out and “stretch out” by visiting the city before she had to enter quarantine and remain in her room. I wished I had thought of that.  
—How long has it been since we meet up like this, four or five years? —Erzebeth said in a slightly accusatory tone, smelling the coffee in her cup—, and how long has it been since you replied any of my letters with anything more than “I’m healthy, thank you for your concerns”, huh?  
She was progressively sounding more aggravated.  
—I-I’m sorry, your Highness —I said, looking down.  
I had met her when I was six or seven years old. Mother went out to meet some “friends” of her, as she had done before several times. But that time, instead of leaving me at the care of Adrian, and the five maids that still worked for us, she took me along with her. It was probably one of the first times I had gone out of our house. 

Our own house was big, but that mansion was in a completely different level. There were more rooms that I could count, and that was only those we went through to get to the meeting hall. Soldiers and maids came and go in every direction, and some of them just stood in place with a solemn expression. When we finally met with Mother’s “friends”, everyone but her kneeled and lowered their heads. I tried to mimic them, but Mother stopped me. 

—We don’t kneel to anyone, just a bow is enough —she said sternly, but with a sly smile. 

I nodded, and did just that. One of the attendants of that mansion told me Mother and her “friends” would have to talk adult business.

—The young Princess is playing on the garden, would you like to play with her? —she said.

She extended her hand towards me, and I recoiled a bit. I wasn’t accustomed to talking to strangers, at all. I looked up to Mother, who nodded without really looking at me. I timidly grabbed that person’s hand, and followed by the maid that was accompanying us, she lead me to the garden. I was amazed with how big it was, it was probably bigger than our entire property. 

—Anna! —a young girl with silver hair yelled as she spotted us. 

She came running towards us and jumped into the maid’s arms. 

—Careful there, young princess —the attendant said, but the girl was ignoring her already. 

—Hello, who are you?! —she yelled again as she laid her eyes on me. 

—I-I’m… my n-name is… —I was scared. I was a sheltered kid, and I had always had a coward streak. I closed my eyes and looked down, while I continue to stutter.

I felt a warm embrace. 

—There, there, don’t be scared —the other kid said, hugging me. 

I started to slowly breathe deeply, and my heart and anxiety calmed down. 

—Do you feel better?

—Y-yeah. I’m Rossane —I managed to say.

—I’m Erzi! Nice to meet you! Do you want to meet my pets?

I nodded timidly, and she practically dragged me to a corner of the garden, where a mini-zoo had been built. There was a pony, a few dogs, birds of all sorts, and Erzi’s favorites, a family of bunnies. Apparently, when I was about to cry earlier, it reminded her of how she had calmed her pets after a storm had scared them. We played all afternoon, and I was so tired I felt asleep on the way home.

It was not until several days later that I heard some of the maids gossiping, that I found out Mother’s “friends” were the King and the Queen, and Erzi was the princess Erzebeth. I was scared of going back to a place of such prestige again, for some reason. 

—What if I make a mistake and they cut my head! —I said to one of the attendants. 

—They wouldn’t never do anything like that, at least not to a Dragonroot. Where did you ever heard about that? 

I didn’t know, but in retrospective, it was probably some faintly memory from my past life, where royals and aristocracy where usually cruel and arrogant people. Even in "Promises of an Enchanted Hearth", most of the possible love targets with a noble background had a dark side to them, specially the prince Julius, the fiancé of the villainess of the game. 

But even then, when I received an invitation from Erzi to a tea party, I really wanted to go. Mother approved of it, and so, I started going to her mansion somewhat regularly during our childhood. Even after we grew up, we kept exchanging letters, and meeting up every so often. We also talked whenever we crossed paths in socialite events. That’s it, until she married and became the Queen officially. 

It is a bit embarrassing to admit it, but I had been purposely trying to put distance between us. There had always been many rumors circling around me, something that I only became aware as I grew older, and I didn’t want to tarnish her Highness’ reputation. 

—Don’t give me that “your Highness” trash —she said, grabbing me by the cheeks and forcing me to see her face—, we are friends, aren’t we?

Her eyes were sincere, and I could see she was hurt because I had abandoned her.

—Y-yes. Yes, we are, Erzi.

Her mood changed completely, a smile appeared on her face. 

—I was really worried when I heard what happened to your husband, more because you were pregnant and all of your letters were so pragmatic. I feared you would turn into your mother. 

—That could never happen!

Right?

—I see that now. I could never imagine her carrying her own baby like you do.

—Ah, well… I want to appreciate every moment I have with her. 

—I’m envious; I didn’t get to carry Gaius when he was a baby.

Gaius was the first son of Erzebeth, who was around three years old at that time. 

—Why not?

—Well, you know, her Wet Nurse would have more experience about it. I might have hurt him if I did it wrong.

—Really? I don’t think it is that complicated —I said.

Carrying Violett has been as natural for me as breathing. Granted, I had carried my cousin’s babies in my previous life, and they had to teach me how. An idea sprouted on my mind.

—Do you want to carry her? 

—N-no, I couldn’t —she said, but I felt she really wanted to do it.

—Come on, I’ll help you —I said, and got up of my chair to get closer to Erzi. 

She was surprised, but she followed my indications, and held Violett perfectly once she was on her arms. 

—Awww, she is such a cutie —she said, as Violett pouted.

—She is, right? 

We were so engrossed on my daughter’s cuteness, that we didn’t hear the sound of high heels approaching us.

—Your Majersty, what might you be doing with that baby? —The newcomer said, sounding a lot like Carmelia, but there was a bit too much poison on her last two words.

Before any of us could reply, she took Violett out of her arms and shoved her on mine, and proceeded to use a purification spell on Erzi’s hand. 

—Touching a commoner’s baby is totally unacceptable, your Highness. 

—Agatha, you are fired. 

—Eh? —the woman was paralyzed for a few seconds—, Your Highness, what did you said?

—I said that you are fired, be glad I’m not throwing you into a dungeon. 

—B-but, your Highness, why?

—Why, you ask? You insulted the head of the Dragonroot clan, and my best friend, right in front of me. 

—W-what, that’s… a noble would never dress as simple as that! Much less a Dragonroot! There is no way that-

She looked at the direction where I was, surrounded by my attendants, and shut up suddenly. Either she finally recognized that my dress, while simple, was made with high quality cloth, or she looked at how pissed I was. If there was something I was proud of, even on my previous life, was my angry glare. 

—Guards, take her away —the Queen said, and the soldiers obeyed. 

Erzi explained me that Agatha had been appointed as a child raising consultant, recommended by her own mother, and had “helped” her raise her firstborn. She was apparently very famous among other noble families, as every kid she was put in charge ended up as a proper noble. I could see she was a bit too much into the strictness, though. Still, I would feel pity for her losing her job, if she hadn’t handled Violett so rudely. 

—I had been misguided all this time, apparently —Erzi said, sulking a bit. 

—I’ll help you out —I impulsively said, trying to comfort my friend. 

Objectively, that should have sounded like an empty promise. I was a lot less qualified than the consultant she had just fired, and since the Queen didn’t know about my previous life, I must looked even less than that. But even so, she smiled. 

—I’ll be on your care.

We keep chatting after that, eating a few pastries while I tried to pass onto her my limited child raising knowledge. After a while, another person arrived, carrying a three year old with her. This attendant, however, didn’t immediately attack me. 

—Rossane, this is my son Gaius, and her wet nurse, Miranda. 

—It is a pleasure —she replied, bowing towards me, after leaving the kid on the floor. 

Gaius seemed really interested in Violett, so I showed her to him by kneeling next to him. 

—She is very young and delicate, so you need to be very careful, but you can touch her —I said.

The Queen and the wet nurse were a bit worried; Gaius was a bit energetic, just like her mother was when she was a kid. But he actually listened to me, and very carefully touched her cheeks and her hair, all while giggling and saying how she was really small. After that, the Queen had to return to the palace.

—I’ll take your recommendations seriously, but please come to visit and help me out, will you? —she said while leaving —Julius will be born in a month or so, I’ll send you a letter to meet up afterwards.

—Be careful, I’ll be praying for a safe delivery —I said, also getting ready to leave the coffee shop. 

It was already past noon, so I had to speed up and finish what I had come to the city for. However, as the Queen disappeared on the distance, holding the hand of her firstborn, a realization crossed my mind.

—Did she say her baby was going to be called Julius?

—That’s right, Madame.

—O-oh. I see…

How could I have not realized it earlier, the shock of meeting my old friend had been enough to distract me that much? The baby she was carrying was no other than Prince Julius, the future fiancé of my Violett, and the one who would betray her to marry the protagonist. Granted, my daughter was a villainess and had bullied the protagonist. But I have decided to scrap that future entirely, so this was actually a good thing, right? Prince Julie and Violett will love each other and live happily ever after, and Erzi and I will be co-mothers-in-law! I just needed to fix some attitude problems that the Prince will had, but since Erzi was open to receive my suggestions, that shouldn’t be any problem now!

The only thing that kept bothering me was that, in the game, Julius didn’t have an older brother…


	7. Strawberry fields forever.

In any other circumstance, I would be delighted to be able to walk through the market district of Byzandria, our capital city. It was a busy meeting place for every kind of business, with shops full of products both national and from very far and mysterious places. High end stores of all kinds, as well as food stalls in the streets, I just loved it all. But at that moment, I was too worried about Gaius' absence in the game.

It would be one thing if he was an illegitimate child or even the younger brother; they could have kept him for the sequel. But he being the eldest was a problem, as in the game, Julius was declared as the one who would became the future king without any challenger. For that to happen, Gaius would have to lose his claim to the throne and vanished entirely from this world.

I was so focused on my worries that I almost bumped into someone while walking through the busy streets. I stopped just in time, but I lost my balance and started to fall back. Sophie and the other attendants tried to catch me, but the person who I almost hit was who managed to hold me first, grabbing me by the shoulders.

—Madame, are you alright? —Carmelia asked.

—Y-yes. Thank you —I said, feeling a bit of relief.

I was still carrying Violett on my arms, so when I felt like I was starting to fall, I had held her tightly and braced for impact. I didn't know what I would do if something were to happen to her.

—Madame Dragonroot... —I heard a familiar voice, and a shiver ran through my back.

I looked up and, as I feared, the doctor Maxwell Conrad was right in front of me. And as I expected, for the next five minutes, he nagged me for being so careless and almost hurting Violett. I couldn't disagree with him at all.

—Lastly, when you are walking through crowded places like these streets, let your maids surround you. That way you'll avoid crashing into someone even if you are not paying attention.

—Ah, I see, I got it —I said, trying to avoid the glare of Carmelia, who had suggested us to do just that a few minutes earlier.

He didn't seem satisfied with my answer, and looked like he was about to recriminate me for that as well.

—B-by the way, what business might have brought you to the market district this day? —I said, trying to change the subject.

He looked at me with his eyes slightly narrowed, as if guessing my intentions without doing any effort. He let out a sight after a couple of seconds.

—I was supposed to give the Queen a check up on her pregnancy...

—Oh! You are attending Erz- I mean, her Majesty as well? —that wasn't that much of a surprise, he was one of the best doctors on this nation after all—, but what do you mean by supposed?

—She sent a messenger telling me to reschedule, as she met up with a friend after a long time and wanted to rekindle their friendship —he said, sounding a bit annoyed.

I didn't let the smile fade from my lips even after hearing that. That was most certainly my fault, Doctor, I'm sorry. It wasn't in my best interest to admit it, though.

—I-I see. Then, what are you going to do?

—Well, she has some free time later on the evening, so I have some time to lose. I could have stayed on the palace waiting, but I thought I could waste them here in the market instead. There are a few shops I wanted to visit.

—Oh my, what a coincidence —Sophie chimed in—, we were going to do the same, would you like to accompany us, Doctor?

I threw a glance towards her, never stopping smiling but trying to tell her "what are you doing?" with my glare. Her only response was a smile that said "Is fine, isn't it?". I gave up. It's not like he would agree, I remember having thought, and then biting my tongue for raising that flag.

—Sure, I don't have anything better to do.

Of course.

With the Doctor joining our party, we moved forward to our next objective, the Claes' floristry. Carmelia had "suggested" that we should visit it since it had a very good reputation among the nobles, and they had even taken care of the garden of the mansion before I moved in. It was a really beautiful place, with flowers of all kinds, and lots of floral decorations.

—Hmm, I wasn't aware you had an interest in gardening... —the Doctor said in a bit of a judgmental tone.

—It is a bit improper for a lady, but I want to have something to share with Violett, so we are planning to revive the old greenhouse —I said with a smile.

There were already all sorts of rumors going on around me, so there was no problem with confirming my interest in gardening.

—Madame! Look at this! —Sophie called me, with a tiny shovel on her hand—, isn't it cute?

—It is! —I said, and approached her.

I was a bit more interesting in the bigger ones, and started contemplating planting a few fruit trees on the garden or even starting a farming field. Carmelia, almost as if reading my mind, took the shovel from my hand and placed it back on its rack without saying one word. We did end up buying a few tools, as well as some seeds, but I felt as if it was not yet enough.

—Flowers are great, but I would like to have some other plants. We could use some for cooking or for other products.

—It would be difficult to buy vegetable and fruit's seeds if one isn't a farmer —Carmelia quickly answered—, and even then, they would only sell them as bulk.

—Ugh...

—Well, you could buy the fruits and vegetables and try to grow those —the Doctor unexpectedly said.

He had said it in a dismissive tone, but his words had reached me.

—That's it! —I said—, we need to go to the farmer's stalls!

—B-but Madame, we already have plenty of fruits and vegetables at home.

—Yeah, but those are the good ones. To plant them, you want the mature ones, the ones that aren't sold regularly!

—Is that how is it? —Carmelia asked.

—Yes, well, not for all, I think.

I wasn't really sure, in my previous life I had seen lots of videos about how to germinate seeds and take care of plants, but I had never really tried it, and now it was nothing more than a foggy memory.

—We'll have to experiment! —I declared, and practically dragged my four attendants and the doctor through the stalls.

Most nobles had their own farms, or had contracts with one; our household wasn't the exception, though Carmelia had deal with everything related to that after the death of my husband. So it was quite exciting choosing the products by myself. I ended up taking not only those that I thought were about to be ripe, but also a few fresh ones. They looked delicious, I couldn't resist. I bought all sorts of berries, apples, citrus, and even a watermelon, as well as several kinds of vegetables, like potatoes and radishes.

And just when I was starting thinking it was time to go back; it was the Doctor who asked us if we could follow him.

—A friend of mine happen to have a business in this street —he said, pointing to what would be better described as a narrow and uninviting alleyway.

It was pretty suspicious, and I could see Carmelia and Sophie being a bit reluctant, but we were talking about THE Doctor Maxwell Conrad, there is no way he could have any ulterior motive. He had also been following us for a couple of hours already, so it was only fair. We followed him through the narrow passage, making turns and crossing other main streets, until I was completely lost. But ultimately, we arrived to a shop that was only identified by the name of its owner in a sign above the door.

—Haggard? —I muttered. The name sounded familiar.

Maxwell opened the door and, as I was a bit curious, we followed him to the interior of the shop. To my surprise, that shop wasn't that much different from the floristry we had visited before, with lots of potted plants and flowers, albeit the room was a bit smaller, and somewhat homely and gloomy at the same time. The windows were tinted, and the only illumination came out of a few magic-powered lights and some bioluminescent plants and fungi. It gave the image of a magic forest inside of a room. What was more intriguing was that some of the plants seemed to be moving. The sound of the door closing alerted the man on the other side of the counter, who had been too distracted feeding crickets to something that resembled a Venus' flytrap, but that was big enough to bite off his hand if it wanted.

—Welcome to Haggard's Monster-plant's nursery —the man with the long black hair said, before his eyes met us— Oh, Maxwell, I wasn't expecting you to come.

—We were around the neighbor and came to greet you —the Doctor said—, this is Lady Rossane Dragonroot, one of my patients, and her attendants.

—It is such a pleasure —the man said with a smile, but soon his face froze and started to sweat —Lady Dragonroot, you said? THE LADY DRAGONROOT?

The Doctor just nodded. The man ran all the way around his counter and stood before me, bowing his head.

—Please excuse my disrespect; I wasn't aware it was you who had granted me the privilege to visit my humble shop.

—Ah, please raise your head, I don't mind it at all, Mister...

—I-I am Victor Haggard, scholar of botanic and natural sciences.

—Oh! I see, I see —I said with a smile.

My answer probably intrigued Victor a bit, but he didn't said anything more. I was happy I had finally remembered why the name sounded so familiar. Victor Haggard was a professor in the academy by the time Violett enrolled on it, probably due to his connections with the future principal. Putting the matter of how he got the job aside, he was a good teacher, always calm and reasonable. He was the favorite of many fans for his youthful yet mature appearance and demeanor; I remember seeing a lot of fanart made of him. The young man in front of me was just a sketch of who he would become, barely able to keep his cool in front of someone who was only mildly influential like myself. For some reason, his meek attitude made me want to tease him.

—I see you are on the business of raising monster plants... —I said.

He swallowed a bit of saliva. The Doctor was looking away. Was he laughing?

—Why yes, is there anything you would like to know? Ah, but please, allow me to offer you some tea.

—I would appreciate some for me and my attendants, thank you.

After hearing my words, Victor immediately ran to the backroom to fetch the kettle. I took the chance to look around the shop,specifically to the plant that was sitting on her pot over the counter. Carmelia tried to stop me, but she was too slow, and I touched her. Of course she didn't bite me; Betsy was smart enough to differentiate friends from food.


	8. Sowing the seeds of love.

When Victor returned, he caught me scratching the "lower jaw" of his monster plant. Sophie was right behind me, being equal parts curious and scared, while Carmelia, Iridia and Nora kept a safe distance, not entirely sure how to react or what to think of the situation. The Doctor was looking somewhere else, and dear Violett had fallen asleep with all of our previous walking.

—This is certainly unusual —Victor said— I haven't seen anyone so fearless as to touch a monster plant that they have just met.

—Ah, well, you see...

In the game, there was a massive greenhouse next to the academy, commissioned to be built by Victor himself. Betsy was the center piece of that amazing garden, and she had grown up to the size of a tree. And crazy as it might sound, under her shadow was a hot spot for couples to enjoy their meals or just spend time together between classes. There was even a pretty important event between the protagonist and her love interest right there, so iconic that it was featured on the backside of the game's box. That's how I knew Betsy was completely harmless, but I certainly couldn't tell him that.

—I thought she was cute —was the only thing that came to my mind. I wasn't completely lying.

—Ah, haha, I see —Victor said, fooled by me acting as an airhead.

He had brought back a kettle, as well as a tray with some biscuits. The kettle was imbued with fire magic, so it could generate heat without any external source. The biscuits were apparently bought in a nearby store, and I suspect they were meant for himself, but it would have been disrespectful not to grab even one. They were pretty tasty, so I couldn't help but to grab a few more.

—So, you were going to tell us about your business?

—Of course, Madame —Victor said—, first of all, allow me to mention that my shop is the only monster plant nursery in Byzandria. Many people think of them as just monsters or pest, but the neighboring countries to the north and west have been taming and training not only them, but also other kinds of monsters for their benefit.

I smiled, he was talking with a confidence that he had been lacking before. That was the teacher that I had seen in the game.

—Fascinating. So it is like our domesticated Kelpies and other water beast, right? —I said.

—Exactly. But monster plants are way more versatile, some could throw poisonous needles and be set as a defense mechanism, others produced an alluring aroma, or a very disgusting one. Some could induce sleeping or paralyzing powder, as well as pheromones of all kinds. There are also some that can produce antidotes and medicine. And almost all of them produce fruit at some point.

He kept going on about the different types and their applications. I was really interested in one that could communicate through its vines, working as a vigilance system and alerting their owner of any intruder. Maybe with a bit of selective breeding, something that could resemble telephone lines could be made.

When I realized, we had been talking for almost half an hour, and I realized we had gone to that place following Maxwell, and he had barely spoken during all of our stay.

—I-I'm sorry for monopolizing your friend, I'm sure you had more important things to discuss with him.

—No, don't worry. I just wanted to greet Victor and see how he was doing —the Doctor replied—, well, to be honest, I also thought he could help you with your greenhouse.

—Oh, are you building a greenhouse, madame?

—Something like that, it belonged to my late husband, but it was left on disrepair for a long time. I want to be able to work on it alongside Violett.

—I'm sorry for your loss —Victor said, bowing his head a bit—, and by Violett, you mean...

—My daughter, of course! —I proudly said, but I came to notice I had her covered with a sheet so that light won't bother her sleep.

I uncovered her face slowly, so that Victor could appreciate her adorableness. He didn't seem to react as much as I expected, but he was really interested on the greenhouse, as well as my intention to grow fruits and vegetables.

—If you allow me, I would be glad to lend you my help —he said.

—I would really appreciate the help of an expert as yourself. You can negotiate your compensation with Carmelia.

—That won't be necessary, madame. It's the least I can do after you heard my ramblings.

I tried to convince him, but he didn't back down. It was then decided that he would help us on the weekends, when his store closed. We continued to talk for at least another half hour, until the Doctor said he had to go to his appointment with the Queen. I decided we should leave too, but we'll be waiting for Victor to pay us a visit that same weekend, and I would do the same if I came to the city. I was really glad to have a friend, after all those years of only exchanging letters with Erzi. Before I left, I leave a bag of oatmeal and honey cookies that I had bough earlier, as a compensation for eating most of his biscuits. Carmelia looked a bit angry that she hadn't noticed when I bought them, but since I was giving them away, she didn't say anything else. She was unaware of the second bag I had bought.

Since neither my attendants nor I knew how to get back to the main road, we followed the Doctor again until we reached it. One side lead us directly to the piers, and in the other direction, at the distance, was the palace. Just by looking at it, my previous worries came back.

—D-doctor! —I almost yelled at Maxwell, who was already going uphill without properly saying goodbye.

He stopped and looked back, but I had to walk up to him, since I didn't want everyone to hear what I might said.

—You have met Erzi's son, right? —I asked—Garius...

—Yes. He has a particular doctor, but I have seen and talked to him. Is something wrong? —he asked, noticing I was worried.

—Y-yes, but well, no. I just... I met him this morning, and I got a weird feeling —that was the best way I thought to explain it without saying too much—, have you noticed something?

He was looking at me as if I had said something completely incoherent, which wasn't too far from the truth. But after pondering about it for a few moments, his face changed a bit.

—I don't know if it is related, but I do not like his tutor, Miss Agatha. She is recommended by a lot of noble families, and is supposedly very strict, but I have heard some maids saying that she is isolating the poor kid, even from his mother. Almost as if she wanted to be the only one he can rely on...

—Oh!

That was it! That must be it! I didn't know the specifics, but if Gaius would have stayed under the care of Agatha, something bad would have happened to him.

—I'm glad I made Erzi fired her... —I said, finally feeling some relief.

—Hmmm. Madame Dragonroot, you have been talking about our majesty in a quite familiar tone, and now you said you made her fire Prince Gaius' tutor. Are you perhaps the friend who she was talking and made her cancel our appointment?

—I... uh... Oh! Look at the time, I need to feed Violett or she'll get cranky. Goodbye! —I said as I was already running away.

I was really dreading what he could say on my next appointment, if he didn't cancel it outright...

Just before we left, we visited the Adventurer's Guild, to post a quest for someone with magic to clean our greenhouse. I didn't think many adventurers would be interested in such menial work, I had the image of them wanting to do nothing but hunt monsters and raid dungeons, after all.

—There are many people like that —Nora said—, but there are others who like to work as guards, or just take jobs on their side that fit their specifics skills. I knew a guy who could control the wind, but only used it to help up on the fruit's harvest because he didn't wanted to get hurt, and he had a stable job aside. It was just a bit of extra money.

—I see. I hope at least the amount we posted attracts someone.

We went back home after that,Carmelia had a very stern conversation with Adrian about the speed of our travel, and so we ended up taking a bit more time to return. The days passed on, and our request for a cleaner hadn't been answered. The weekend was approaching too, and it will be embarrassing to show the greenhouse to Victor in its current state, so I somehow convinced Carmelia and the rest to help me give it at least a superficial cleaning, to throw away everything that was rotten or broken. Of course, the ones who dared to go inside wore gloves and covered their mouths and eyes, and we had our cheff Gabby cast "Purify" on them and everything they took out of there, just in case. By the sunset, there were still lots of things inside and it was going to be very hard for us to finish cleaning it on time, but what mattered was how much we had actually cleaned.

—Madame! Take a look at this! —Sophie said, almost forgetting to be purified by Gabby.

Once she was completely clean, she presented me what looked like a black stone, tear shaped and very reflective, almost like a jewel.

—What is it? —Carmelia asked, intrigued.

—I don't know, it was on the floor under a table.

—It's probably just more trash —Iridia said, comparing it to other stone-like things we had found.

—No, this is... uh...

I have seen it before, I was sure of it. It was a key item on the game, the legendary Seed of Ygdrassil. But as for what it was for... I had no idea. Promises of an Enchanted Heart was a game with lots of collectible items, some used for crafting potions, some used as gifts to increase the love interest's affections, and a few more were used once each on very specific situations to unlock an event. Without a guide, it was very difficult to remember when to use what. I still had the feeling it was important, so I decided to keep it.


	9. Feasting on the flowers

Saturday morning arrived, and we were already getting ready to clean as much of the greenhouse as we could before Victor arrived. I had already resigned to not being able to be able to clean it entirely, much less as thoroughly as I wished. But just before we got our hands dirty, an attendant came to tell me we had visitors calling for me.

—Good morning —the young woman said, slightly bowing her head towards me.

His companions mimicked her. One of them was an old yet slightly buff man. The other was younger, barely an adult, dressed as a mage. The woman wore light armor and had a sword tied to her belt.

—We are here to fulfill the quest posted by Madame Dragonroot.

—Um... I think you might have misunderstood the quest, we needed help cleaning a greenhouse —I said.

These people were clearly adventurers, the kind of people that go to the wilderness and battle against monsters.

—We understand that, and we believe we have the adequate skills. If you show us to the greenhouse, we will be able to show you that.

I still had my doubts, but I was intrigued. I guided them to the backside of the house, where the garden, the gazebo, and the greenhouse were. I stopped by the gazebo for a moment, were Violett was sleeping on a stroller I had discretely bought on our last trip to the city. Sophie was watching over her, as I had convinced Carmelia to let me help with the cleaning. I was only supervising, though. After confirming Violett was still sleeping, I took the trio to the greenhouse.

—This is it.

—Ho ho, I see it is quite dilapidated —the old man said, stroking his beard.

—Gramps! —the young woman said, embarrassed. She pulled the old man's cheek until he apologized.

The young man taciturnly looked around, to the pile of trash we had taken out, and to the even bigger pile that still remained inside.

—Is there a chance anything of value might be among the rubbish? —he said.

—Ah, I... don't think so... —I replied.

After finding the Seed of Ygdrassil, the maids had looked all over the greenhouse just in case there was another mysterious treasure hiding there. They just had found dust and dirt.

—Very well.

He raised his wooden staff, and I was marveled when I saw the entire greenhouse glow for a moment. I was a bit less thrilled when he shot a fireball to its interior and caused an explosion. The long glass panels blew apart in shards, but neither they nor the flames reached us, who were standing just a few meters from it.

—What are you doing?! —the woman yelled, trying to shake him by the shoulders.

—Don't distract me, Anna. I might mess up the spells and we might all die —he said, completely calm.

—You need to relax a bit, Anna. Humans have to live to their limits —the old man chimed in, as if imparting ancient knowledge.

—Shut up, Gramps! What are we going to do if Lady Dragonroot knows we cleaned his greenhouse like this?!

—As long as it is clean, it doesn't matter how we do it —the mage continued.

And with a flick of his staff, the explosion died out suddenly, and all of the shards returned to their original places and fused seamlessly. Even those that were broken or cracked beforehand were fixed. They were not even stained.

—I left the tables, cases, and pots. I'll dispose of the trash you got outside, please tell me if you need anything else to stop existing.

—P-please excuse my brother, and don't say anything about this to Lady Dragonroot! —the woman pleaded.

—Ah, well, they say fire is the best sanitizer —I replied—, but about the other thing...

—Madame, Mr. Haggard has arrived, and as he had an appointment, I allowed him to come inside—Carmelia said as she approached us, followed by the botanist.

—Good morning, Madame —Victor said, bowing his head towards me—. It is really an honor to be allowed in your house.

—I'm really thankful that you would take your time to come and help me —I replied—, we just finished cleaning the greenhouse, with the help of this group of adventurers.

I turned around to introduce them, finding out that both the old man and the young woman were shocked, their mouths open agape, while the young man was just as disinterested as he has been since he arrived. A few minutes later, we were all drinking tea under the gazebo.

—Ho ho, but to think that the fearsome head of the Dragonroot clan would be dressed and act like that, there are truly fascinating things to be seen if one lives long enough! —the old man said.

I had been wearing "working clothes" to help with the cleaning, so their confusion was not too hard to understand. Moreover, with the way I had been acting I probably looked more like the wet nurse in charge of Violett.

—Gramps, that's very rude! Apologize to her! —the young woman said.

Her voice was loud enough to wake up Violett, and she started to fuss and trash around. The woman covered her mouth and looked terrified, as if expecting me to burst in anger, but I didn't really mind it.

—Excuse me —I said, and went to pick up Violett, cradling her in my arms and hummed her song.

She went to sleep immediately, but I didn't want to put her back on the stroller just yet, so I took her with me to the table.

—Well, as unbelievable as it might sound, I am Rossane Dragonroot. There might be some rumors about me going on, but I would like to ask you to form your own opinion of me so we can get along.

—N-no, it was our entire fault for not paying attention, Madame. We'll accept any punishment you want to place upon us.

—She said it is fine already, so let it go —his brother said.

—You...

I think they had dealt with difficult customers in the past; a few nobles I had known would get offended but much less and would seek compensation, even if it would actually benefit them in any way. They just enjoyed stepping over others.

—I don't want to punish anyone. The three of you actually helped me a lot, and I will pay you the reward for the quest and a little more. But for the time being, would you be so kind to tell me your names?

—Ce-certainly! —the woman said, still sounding a bit scared— I'm Anna, and he is my brother Neil. The old man is our gramps, Marcus.

Curious. Since I recovered my previous life's memories, I had been meeting up people that were relevant for the game's plot, so I was expecting to recognize their names, even if it was from background characters. But none of them sounded familiar. Still, maybe I was just not remembering them, so I tried to prod a bit into their lives, using all of my noblewoman's charisma.

—What more can you tell me about you? —I said, totally not canalizing my inner office lady.

—W-well, we have been adventurers for 5 years already —Anna said—, we are still very low ranked, so we have to take on odd jobs and weird task like this to make ends meet. Ah! I don't mean anything bad about this job, we are really grateful that you let us work for you.

—Don't worry —I said with a smile—, please continue.

She told me more about herself and her companions, and she opened herself even to the point where she started to vent up about having to deal with his brother and his grandfather all the time. Both were reckless in her opinion, each on their own way.

From what I could gather, Old Man Marcus was once a pretty respected adventurer, but had retired when he got married. His son followed his steps, but he continued adventuring even after he married and had kids, Anna and Neil. They were mostly raised by Marcus and his own wife, until she passed away. Anna and Neil's parents also passed away.

Neil was pretty good with magic, but liked to do research more than actually using it, and since he had just bellow-than-average stamina, his performance dropped after using two or three spells. Anna was a decent fighter with a sword, though she was mostly self-taught. She wanted to become a member of the royal guard, so she became an adventurer to get experience, but...

—Fighting monsters is pretty hard —she admitted, sounding defeated.

I sighed, understanding completely what she meant. I haven't fought or even met an aggressive monster once during my life as Rosanne, but I remember being frustrated on the few events that involved dealing with one in the game. Adventurers are normally the ones that kept wild monsters in line, eliminating those that came close to human settlements, but some managed to pass through them and cause troubles. There was a golem that attacked the protagonist and her class during an expedition to the desolate wasteland, and a pack of horned wolves attacking the farms near to the city, just when the protagonist went to look for some cooking ingredients. And there were also Violett's dragons, but seeing those involved a bad ending.

It was pretty strange that Anna's party hadn't progressed after 5 years, though. In the end, nothing that they told me made me remember anything of the game, so they probably didn't played any important part on its story. Still, I kind of enjoyed their company, and their skills could be useful.

—Please come back whenever you have time, I can come up with some job for you to do —I said—, of course, I'll pay you for them. Or we can just chat and have some tea.

—We are deeply grateful for your invitation —Anna said, bowing towards me and waving goodbye.

It was only after they left that I came up to realize I was alone with Victor on the gazebo, aside from the still sleeping Violett.

—A-ah! I'm sorry, you took the time to come up here and I got distracted, I'm very sorry!

He looked a bit stumped, but after a few seconds, he smiled slightly.

—Don't worry, I got to see something interest —he said—, you act very different when you are a host instead of a guest, don't you?

—That's... only natural, isn't it? —I managed to say, trying to hide my embarrassment.

Was this person trying to get revenge on me for teasing him the other day?

I somehow managed to keep my composure and guided him to our sparkling yet empty greenhouse. He then shared his secrets and recommendations to grow all kinds of plants, how to germinate the ones we had brought on the market, as well as how to get a few more from fruits and vegetables. I was really interested in growing some exotic trees, having a source of mangoes, papayas, and oranges would be delightful. I also taught him a little about what I remembered from my previous life, mostly about compost and grafting. Of course, I only gave him the general idea, passing it as a though that had occurred me, and let him figure the rest. Before we realized, a few hours have passed and Victor had to return to the city.

—Before I go, I would like to present you with a gift —he said, taking a small envelope of his pocket.

—W-what? —I said, genuinely surprised—, you sho-shouldn't have.

—To be frank, it is not an entirely selfless gift —he said—, it is a seed of a Rose Nymph. It is very rare to get them to actually sprout; legends say that they only respond to certain kind of people. No matter what I did it didn't germinate. But I got the feeling that you might be able to make it bloom. Plus, it is related to your name.

I nervously laughed. That was a huge expectation to put on me, and there was nothing like that on the game. But the topic had picked my interest.

—Then I shall take it. Of course, I will be expecting you to help me make it grow.

—It shall be my pleasure.

After that, I and a few maids accompanied him to the piers and bid farewells. As we were returning home, a thought come to my mind.

—I should have asked him about the Ygdrassil seed —I muttered, chastising me for my own forgetfulness—, well, I'll ask him next time we meet.


	10. Follow you, follow me.

The days kept passing by, and before I knew, three months had passed. By that point, I had become pretty accustomed to my newly found routine of taking care of the greenhouse's plants. Of course, taking care of Violett was my priority. She needed to be feed every two hours or so, even at the middle of the night. I'm quite a light sleeper, so I would wake up whenever she started to make a fuss.

—You have to let us help you, Madame. This is not open to discussion.

Carmelia had declared after I had told her I could do it by myself. All of the attendants, even Sophie agreed with her, so there was little I could do.

—Fine, each of you will have a turn each night.

I would still wake up whenever someone entered my room, but knowing it was one of my trusted maids helped me sleep soundly shortly after that, at least until the next turn.

Once morning arrived, I bathed Violett with Sophie's help, and took a bath myself. We ate breakfast together, and then went to work on the greenhouse. I had planted lots of flowers and plants of all sorts, following the indications of Victor of course, but I only had tiny sprouts. We had built a pretty improvised composter, and it was already producing fertilizer from our food scraps and fallen leaves. I had immediately and impulsively applied it to all of the pots, so I didn't know if they were growing especially fast. I would have liked to leave one plant without it, but I couldn't choose which to "neglect".

—And this is the pot where I planted the Rose Nymph —I told Violet as I watered said point—, with any luck, it will grow up into something beautiful by the time you can appreciate it... I hope. 

I had remembered reading somewhere that talking to babies helped their cognitive development, so I tried to keep Violett at my side at any moment and describe her everything I was doing. I brought the stroller with me so I could put her there, but I liked to carry her on my arms as much as possible.

The Rose Nymph, by the way, still hadn't sprouted. Despite this, the Botanist still praised my work on every visit, though I was convinced he was just being kind and polite. He also has been helping me take care of the plants, and after that we chatted over some tea under the gazebo.

After work was done, during the first hours of the afternoon, I would have my lunch. Then it would be "play time" with Violett, I would either read her a book or sang to her. I occasionally also gave her massages, though I had practically no idea what I was doing.

At dusk, we would take a nap, have dinner, take another bath, and maybe read a bit more before going to sleep. Anna, Marcus, and their grandpa visited us every so often, and helped with whatever they could, even if it wasn't a work meant for an adventurer. They were the ones that build the composter. Nora took an interest in the swordswoman, and they started to have spares and train together. I was surprised to find out the maid was the one with the upper hand most of the time. While seeing their train, it occurred to me to ask Marcus about magic.

—Are you perhaps interested in learning how to use it? —he asked.

—Not exactly, I have no aptitude for it, so I resigned to never been able to use it —I said—, but I'm intrigued by it, from an entirely academic point of view.

He faintly smiled, and proceeded to spew a lot of undiluted information about the topic, as if a dam had broken. I somehow managed to understand the basics, but as expected, I couldn't replicate it at all. That didn't seem to lower his motivation, as he was more into teaching it than getting me to actually cast a spell.

Finally, my last recurrent guest was the good Doctor, Maxwell Conrad. He came every two weeks or so to check up on both Violett's and my own health. Thankfully, she was in perfect health every visit. As for me...

—Take a deep breath —he said, but it was pretty difficult to do so with Sylphie's cold skin touching my back.

I sat on a corner of my bed, with my back uncovered so he could "hear" my lungs. I was regretting mentioning him that my throat had been a bit sore for a couple of days, which prompted him to give me a very meticulous and thoroughly exam.

—I don't think it's anything serious —he said, without apologizing for the unnecessary tests—, I'll give you something for your throat, but if it still sore after three days, or it gets worse, call me immediately.

—Sure, sure —I said, readjusting my blouse.

—By the way, have you stayed in contact with the Queen? —he casually asked.

I raised my eyebrows. Showing interest in such trivial matters was very uncharacteristically of him, more so asking so openly. Then again, for someone with as poor bedside manners as him, it wasn't as strange that he would be so bluntly.

—Y-yes, we have been exchanging letters —I said.

I have been forcing myself to break my old customs, and write more than the bare minimum on my replies. It was hard for me to come up with anything to write on them, though. I eventually just started to write about Violett's care and daily activities, and suddenly the page was already full. This had the unexpected effect of making Erzi send letters more frequently, and writing more in each one.

—So you surely have heard about her second son's birth.

—Ah, yes! —I said, a bit too excited—I was very worried when Erzi told me the birth was expected to happen that same week, and then she didn't write back for two more days! But thankfully, both her and Prince Julius are healthy.

He had been born two months after Violett, just like his bio on the game said.

—Hmm, I'm glad to hear about it, I'm pretty sure the doctor that attended her was one of the greatest —Maxwell said.

—Yeah —I half mindlessly agreed, until I came to certain realization—, wait, you were that doctor!

—So? I didn't said anything wrong.

I wanted to retort his claim, but choose not. It was thanks to her that both Erzi and I have gone through delivery safely, so I was willing to give him a bit of credit.

—Putting that aside... have you seen Prince Gaius? —I asked, still a bit worried about him.

—Hmm? Yes, he was with his mother every time I visited, and he seems to be doing better.

I let out a sigh of relief, Erzi had told me the same thing on her letters, but it was nice to have someone impartial backing it up. Without his tutor guiding him to the path of destruction, he would most likely avoid a terrible bad ending.

—By the way, the queen told me something interesting last time I visited her —the doctor said—, kids can get jealous of their younger siblings for getting all the attention, but if you involve the older kids with simple chores, the risk of this diminishes. So she has been asking young Prince Gaius to help her even before his brother was born, with things like keeping her company and holding her hand when she had to walk. It is a very interesting approach, and it seems to have a good effect of the young prince, but I can't say I have heard about it before. Do you happen to know where she would get such fantastic idea?

The dry and interrogating tone of his words didn't match their literal meaning.

—W-who knows, the Queen probably has access to more information than any of us —I said.

I feel like admitting I had been the one who had suggested that to Erzi would be the wrong answer.

—Is that so? —he said, sounding like he wasn't convinced at all—, well, I think it could interest you, since you are getting really involved in your child's care. I suppose you can ask her on your next letter, or ask her directly at the party.

—Hmm? What party?

—You haven't received your invitation already? She was saying she wanted to make a party to celebrate the birth of her son. I would have though you would be the first to be informed of it, since you and the Queen are so close.

That was unexpected, since she didn't do one when Gaius was born. She did sent me a letter at the time, telling me she and the baby were healthy, but nothing else.

—You seem to be under a misunderstanding —I said—, Erzi and I are childhood friends and pen pals, but that's the extent of our relationship. A celebration such as this should only be attended by the crème of society. If I'm relevant to this nation at all, it is because of my family story, nothing more.

—I see. To be frank, that's a bit disappointing.

—Disappointing? What part?

He smiled and buffed a bit of air, as if mocking my ignorance. Then he looked at his pocket watch and made a disgruntled noise.

—Never mind, I'll have to see another patient. We'll continue this conversation later, maybe even at the party —he said, hurriedly leaving the room.

—I already told you, I'm not going to be invited —I loudly proclaimed.

But surely, as if it was a bad joke from the destiny, just a few hours later, I had the invitation to the celebration right on my hand. My name was right there, so it isn't like it had been sent to me by error.

—W-what am I going to do? —I asked, looking around at my attendants for help.

Instead, I only saw Carmelia with an eerie smile on her face.

—Isn't it great, Madame? —she said—it is the perfect opportunity to win the respect of the other nobles, isn't it?

—Th-that's too much pressure, can't I fake being sick?

—That's out of the discussion —Carmelia said, forcing herself to smile even more—, you are going, even if you really got sick.

I turned towards Sophie, who was also smiling, but in a truly kid way.

—Don't worry Madame —she said—, I'll help you to pick up a dress that will suit you and let everyone else impressed!

—...Thank you, I'm leaving it to you —was the only thing I could say, as I resigned to my doom.


	11. Monarchy of Roses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Xmas, or whatever. This is a bonus chapter from the doctor's perspective.

I became acquaintance with Rosanne Dragonroot almost a year ago, after she realized she had become pregnant. She was apparently looking for the best doctor of the nation, and she called for me specifically. Despite the pride I have on my skills and knowledge, I'll have to admit there are better doctors than myself. Only two or three though, but they still count.

I have heard the rumors, about her clan and about herself, but I still decided to accept the job. In my experience, rumors tended to be either completely false, or greatly exaggerated. People who would actually do bad things would usually be discrete enough about them, so she couldn't be as bad as the gossipers described her, I thought. I had worked with other nobles before, some who were terrible to work with and won't even thank someone who saved their lives. One in specific had refused to pay me for several years, despite curing him after years of being horribly sick. As long as she was within that range, I could deal with her.

My expectations were completely thrown away when I stood in front of her.

—Hmm, so you are the so called Dr. Maxwell Conrad? I was expecting a bit more...

The woman was standing on the top of a staircase, looking down at me with her bright red eyes. Her arms were crossed, and everything about her posture indicated "disapproval". No, it was more like her whole self was screaming "disdain" towards me.

I couldn't believe her, even those who turned out to be obnoxious to deal at least tried to act polite when we met. If this was her trying to give a "good impression", I didn't want to stay and see how she acted normally. And, well, since her life wasn't in any risk, I decided I wouldn't take her as a patient. I would rather lose reputation and prestige than to deal with her. But I couldn't leave. I couldn't move. Her glare alone had me frozen in place. Then she smiled, still with her eyebrows furrowed.

—You haven't run away, good —she said, in a slightly amused tone—, then I suppose I'll have to leave my life in your barely capable hands.

She finally stepped down of the stairs, but that didn't make too much difference. Her height was more or less the same as mine, yet she continued to look down on me by raising her forehead.

—Or perhaps, are you not up to the task?

Her words managed to hurt my ego, as much as I hate to admit it.

—Leave it to me! —I impulsively said—. I'll make sure you and the baby are healthy at the end of your pregnancy, even if I have to battle against Ereshkigal for your soul!

She conceitedly smiled once more, and told me to follow her to her room. I gave her a check up, and aside from her whining about Sylphie, everything about her health seemed fine. I continued to visit her on the upcoming months and monitored the baby's development. She continued to be annoying and arrogant as ever, but I started to see a different aspect of her personality.

—You have done a pretty good job, Doctor —she said one rainy day after her check up—, in spite of your lack of bedside manners.

It didn't answer to her provocations, despite how much I wanted to call on her hypocrisy. I couldn't deny entirely her accusation either, other people, even well intentioned, have pointed to me that I could be a bit... discourteous, when dealing with patients.

—Ah, I just remembered, a friend got pregnant too; I'll send her a recommendation for you. Take care of her —she added while I was leaving the room.

I didn't think too much of that, but a couple of days later, I received a letter from the Queen Erzebeth herself, asking me to watch over her pregnancy. I couldn't believe the Queen could be the friend Rosanne had spoken about, but it was too much of a coincidence if that wasn't the case. Besides, I didn't receive any other letter at that time. I tried to ask her on our next meeting, but well...

—Madame, the friend you mentioned before, could it have been —I was saying, but she interrupted me.

—Why does her identity matter? If she has the money to pay for your services, that should be enough. It is up to you if you take her as your patient —she said, throwing me a glare.

I really couldn't understand her. I didn't ask further, and after our regular schedule I left the room. Just after the attendant had guided me to the door, I noticed I had left something back at Rosanne's room. I tried calling back to the maid, but she was already gone. Having visited that mansion for almost five months at that point, I didn't think too much and went inside on my own, trying to look up for an attendant in my way to her room. I didn't find even one, but just as I was about to knock on her door, I heard someone singing. It was a simple lullaby, but it was sung with so much love that I stood there and just listened to it.

—Doctor Conrad? —One of Rosanne's attendants, Iridia, called for me, taking me by surprise —is something wrong?

—No, no, I just forgot something in the room —I whispered—, but I didn't wanted to interrupt.

The maid got closer to the door, closing her eyes and smiling for a moment, until the song was finished. Then she knocked on the door.

—Madame, the Doctor came to retrieve something that he left behind. Could he come in?

—W-wait a moment! —I heard, but for a moment I didn't recognized who had spoken.

A couple of seconds after, the same voice spoke, in a completely different tone—¸ come in.

I went inside, and to my surprise, there was no one inside except for Rosanne herself, who was wearing her usual scowl. There was nowhere on her room for someone to hide, and any record player that could play with that quality would be harder to hide than a person. The one that had been singing had to be the Madame, but it just seemed to be so out of character for her to do so.

I picked up the thing I had left behind, and left the room after giving a slight bow towards Rosanne. As I was walking away, I heard the attendant speak.

—Madame, that was a beautiful song you were singing.

—I-I don't know what you are talking about. Escort the Doctor and make sure he isn't forgetting anything else!

Next time I paid her a visit, she refused to talk to me, looking away with her eyebrows furrowed at all times. She still followed my indications, and by the end of it, even made an annoyed "hmmp!" sound to my recommendations.

The head maid, Carmelia, apparently noticed this and chastised her, as she not-so-sincerely apologized on our next appointment. Things went back to normal, more or less, until the last months of her pregnancy. She was physically healthy, but her flow of mana started to become erratic. This was not entirely unusual during pregnancy, and since she had so little mana to begin with, it shouldn't have been a problem. But for some reason, her mana spiked to levels higher than she should had. It was a mystery that had me stumped, until I remembered who I was dealing with.

—This is just a hypothesis, but it could be that your actual state is caused due to your lineage. You might not have inherited any power from the blood of the dragons, but your child might —I told Rosanne.

By that point, there were only a few weeks until the expected date, and her condition had deteriorated quickly. She was unable to get up from her bed, and hadn't consumed anything more than liquids. When she heard me, she gathered all her strength left and drew a smug smile on her face.

—That's my daughter for you —she said. She turned to the window, trying to hide her expression from me, and stood in silence for a few moments—. I-if something happens... at least the child...

For some reason, those words infuriated me more than anything she had said before. I slammed my hand on the desk.

—I gave you my word before, Madame! I will make sure you and your child are alive and healthy at the end!

She looked at me in shook, and after a few seconds, she smiled warmly.

—Thank you. I'll be on your care.

To fulfill my promise, I kept going to her residence every day, spending most of my time there. And by the last week, I stayed there all day and night. The maids gave me a room, but I barely visited. Her condition did get worse, so much that I don't think I would have been able to treat her on my own. Fortunately, she had made arrangements to get many nurses and even some priest to assist me, though she forgot to even mention it.

Violett was born completely healthy, if a bit underweight. It was a bit weird that she didn't cried out like many other babies I had helped deliver, but at that moment I didn't noticed it fully. I was entirely focused on reviving her mother. Her heart and his flow of mana had just stopped. The priest kept healing her, while I sent surges of my own mana into her body to reactive both her hearth and her flow. And it suddenly did, with enough strength to push me away from her for a moment. She was clinically dead for two minutes and fifty two seconds.

And just after a few minutes, she was already awake and talking. She was a bit disoriented, but that was nothing for something that had been cut from Enki's blessing for almost three minutes. Of course, I was the only one who knew about this, everyone else though her heart stopping was the only problem.

—That's not normal... Just what kind of monster is she? —I remember thinking.

But when I went to see her, she was showering her daughter with affection, too focused on her to even notice me.

—Well... it doesn't matter.


	12. Keep yourself alive

Once we entered the palace’s great hall, everyone’s eyes focused on us. On me, specifically. That was not completely unexpected; my presence alone was enough to make other nobles furrow their brows. But on that day, I have given them another reason to badmouth me. My election of clothing was a bit… controversial. I was wearing a black dress with a dark veil. The attendants that had come with me, Sophie, Carmelia, and Iridia, were dressed in similar fashion.   
Dressing in black to a celebration was normally in bad taste, and I could already see some murmuring and gossiping among the multitude. But it would have been worse if I had worn anything else, even if they didn’t realize it. It hasn’t been a year yet since my husband died, so I was expected to still be mourning him. It didn’t really mattered on my day to day, or even in casual reunions, but to ignore such tradition while attending a formal celebration such as that would have been a dishonor not only for me, and my husband’s memory, but to the host as well. Erzi herself probably wouldn’t care, but others might use it against her.   
—But still… everyone is going to be so focused on the color of the dress that nobody is going to notice how beautiful it is —Sophie said, once she had helped me choose my attire.   
—What if we try to turn that negative attention into positive? —Carmelia said, after thinking it for a moment.   
—What do you mean? —I asked.  
—Well, we can put something they can’t get mad to right in the spotlight —she answered, pointing to Violett, who was sleeping in my arms—, and kids aren’t expected to wear black after a family member dies.   
—Oh! —both Sophie and I exclaimed, slightly clapping our hands at Carmelia’s brilliant plan.  
So we dressed my baby with a gorgeous white dress, with a few emeralds here and there. I was carrying her as we crossed the great hall, right where everyone could see her. I felt a little bad for using her as a distraction, but I also kind of wanted to show of how cute my baby was. I… think I was even smiling.  
That strategy apparently worked, as I could only hear a few murmurs belittling me, among the rest of the crowd. We reached the other side of the hall, where the queen and the king were welcoming the guesses on a slightly elevated platform. Erzi was sitting, as she was still a bit weak, and Gaius was at her side. But to my surprise, Erzi was holding baby Julius on her arms.   
—I recognize your soul, Rosanne Dragonroot —she said, welcoming me in a very formal and a bit archaic way. Her smile was still as warm as ever.   
—I am humbled to be on your presence, your Majesty —I replied in similar manner, bowing my head a bit more than usual. It was a bit hard to keep my balance while carrying Violet, but I managed it somehow.   
My attendants had taken a knee to pay respect to the royal family, but as soon as I raised my head, they approached them with the presents we had brought. I… might have brought too many. It was not unusual to bring present to this sort of celebrations, and it was almost expected when the host was from a higher standing, not to even mention from the royal family. But those gifts tended to be jewelry, accessories, paintings, etc.   
I had brought some of those as well, but most of the bulk was comprised of baby clothes, diapers, and a few feeding bottles. I also had written a few notes and recommendations to help in the child’s raising, but those were hidden below the clothes. In hindsight, it was a tacky gift to give to the royal family, but I got a bit too excited when I noticed the part of the invitation that asked me to be Julius’ godmother. And now I could understood the glare Carmelia had thrown at me when we were buying everything. But Erzi looked happy, and almost forgot her role as a queen to give me a huge.   
—I would also like to present a few gifts for the rest of the family —I said, as I presented to them a sheathed rapier—. This sword’s blade has been covered in my blood, and I present it as a symbol of my loyalty towards your Majesties.  
Mother had done the same thing before, and so had some of the previous leaders of my family. It was said that a blade covered by the blood of a dragon would never break or rust, but I’m sure it was just a legend. I still did coat it with my blood… with some begrudgingly help of the doctor.   
—While it can be used to protect oneself, that sword is mostly decorative, as I hope for a future that is a peaceful one and there is never a need to unsheathe it —I said, in the most elegant and magnanimous tone I could muster.  
Then I took a step further towards the queen, and murmured a secret message for her:  
—I also reserved a crate of wine, so that you can enjoy it together once Prince Julius becomes an adult. Maybe we could invite the old chief of guards for a drink.  
Erzi tried so hard to not burst into a laugh. She was quite the heavy drinker when she had the chance, and the night she out drank the chief of guards had become a secret joke between us. I caught a glance of the king’s glare, and took a step back. We did another salute, and turned away, trying to incorporate into the crowd, but it was obvious everyone was trying to keep their distance from us. That is, until I heard a familiar voice. 

—Rosanne!! There you are! —A woman dressed in a very scandalous red dress came running towards me, towing her husband behind her— I thought once you married you’ll stop being such a wallflower!

—Ah, I guess I haven’t changed at all, hahaha…

She was Victoria, and her husband was Christopher. They were not my friends, more like acquaintances. Christopher’s father ran some business for my mother, and I knew Christopher himself since I was a teenager. We met in a few socialite parties and he presented me to her then fiancée, and since then we have had this sort of casual association. Christopher was quite serious and polite, unlike her more ongoing and extrovert wife. They did get along, in their own particular way, and they had two daughters of four and six years old already. Christopher and Victoria had more or less my same age…

—I’m very sorry for what happened to Arthur —Christopher solemnly said.

—T-thanks, thank you very much. 

Christopher had been the one who introduced me to my late husband, they were business partners. Even now, he was taking care of the companies that they had started together, and giving us Arthur’s shares of the profit. He took the chance to give me a summary of their business, and seemed quite pleased with having someone who could understand his lingo. As a former office lady, it would be embarrassing not being able to keep up with him.

Our discussion was more than boring for Victoria, who instead of trying to participate or even listen to it, started playing with Violett, making silly faces and weird noises. She was from a lower tier of nobility than most of the guest in the party, and she had a more hands on approach of raising her kids. Her style was… quite unusual. 

—Can you believe? I found the two little gremlins in the middle of the night eating the cake I had been saving! They made me ran all around the house until they got into their room and locked the door. Of course, everyone woke up by the noise, and they were looking me weird, so I had to go to sleep. Ah… But I can’t stay mad at them, I bought them another cake the next weekend, and we ate it together. I made their slices a bit thinner though —she said with a devilish grin. 

I laughed out of compromise, and she keep talking and talking, but my mind was distracted. If I was just Rosanne Dragonroot, that encounter would have meant nothing, just something to make the party a bit more tolerable. But since I had my memories from my previous life, I knew the future of this couple. They were the ones who would adopt the heroine, five or six years from now. Shortly after that, Christopher would die suddenly. 

Many rumors started to spread about how the girl had caused his death, others about her being his illegitimate daughter. Some went as far as to say she was actually Victoria’s daughter from a lover, and Christopher had been murderer when he found out. Victoria and her daughters took their frustration towards the heroine, and bullied her. They would make her work alongside the maids, and yell at her for every mistake. When she turned into a young adult, they sent her to the Academy because they wanted to get rid of her and fulfill the last promise Victoria had made to her husband. 

I couldn’t allow that to happen, I had already helped Gaiuss escape his bad ending, if there was something I could do, anything, to prevent it, I had to—

—Madame Dragonroot, may I have a moment of your time? —A stern voice said, taking me back from my thoughts. 

I turned my head towards the man who had approached us, none other than the King himself. For his expression I could see he would not take a “no” for an answer. I followed him out of the grand hall, and went to a smaller room that was relatively closer. My attendants waited outside, with Sophie carrying Violett.

—I would like to ask you “what are your intentions?” —the king said—, but they are too obvious for anyone paying attention.

—What might your Highness mean? —I said, trying to keep my smile and a relaxed expression.

—Drop the act. Erzebeth is the most intelligent woman that I know, but she is weak to you. She can’t see that you are manipulating her.

—Oh? —I could barely keep my composure, I was shaking. What was he talking about?

—After years and years of barely keeping contact, you start to become more proactive in trying to restart your friendship, just when it so happens that you had a daughter and she is pregnant. Do I really have to spell it out?

—Hmm. So what your majesty is implying is that I’m trying to manipulate my dear old friend to arrange a marriage between our kids? That’s… entirely correct.


	13. Of wishful thinking.

—That’s entirely correct —I said, trying to make a credible arrogant grin.

The man in front of me, the King of this nation, Augustus Abyla, was stunned by my words. He was the son of the old chief of guards, Octavius, and as such, he spent most of his childhood at the palace alongside Erzi. Their friendship developed into something more very early, and he swore to always be there to protect her. He even became the youngest recruit in 200 years in passing the guard tests, with excellent marks to boost it. He was appointed as Erzi’s personal guardian, and eventually succeeded his father when he retired. I mention all of this to put in context how many times we must had come across. He was always behind Erzi, and whenever we happened to meet, he was there. And he was always glaring at me with scorn. It was quite refreshing seeing a different expression on his face.

—It seems like your Majesty has figured it all out, congratulation! —I continued—, or so I would like to say, but engaging our kids to each other is really just a small part of it, it is barely relevant. 

—What do you mean? —he asked, sounding slightly irritated.

—Hmmm, I was expecting more of the one who dares to stand to the side our of Queen… —I replied, with a tiny bit more vitriol than I intended —I’m not interested in gaining political power or money, I’m quite satisfied on those aspects. And my absolutely cute daughter brings enough joy to my life to not care for anything else. But I’m worried about the future…

—The future? —he said, confused, but intrigued.

There was no other way around it; I had to use my one trump card.

—This nation will cease to exist in less than 20 years. Your Seers must have managed to predict that much.

His eyes went wide.

—H-how can you…

I smiled. At this point, nobody outside of the royal family and a few higher ups were aware of the Astral Observatory and the Seers working on it. They had worked from the shadows for centuries, trying to predict the future by studying the stars far away. The sky is a mirror to the future, was their motto. But their predictions were vague the further ahead they tried to foresee.

They will only become publicly known a decade or so from now, thanks to the efforts of Maxwell Conrad. I’m not sure how he did it, but the Astral Observatory eventually became a branch of the Academy.

Revealing that I was aware of their existence gave legitimacy to my claim, but it was a double edge sword. I now had to explain how I knew about them and the future. A wrong step could be justification enough for the King to send me to a trial for treachery and spying.

—I sometimes have visions in my dreams of things that have yet to pass. It is an ancient skill of our clan that he have keep secret for all these years right under everyone’s nose —I lied, hoping he would be more inclined to believe in my words if I painted my ancestors in a bad light, that he most likely already saw them. Confirmation bias is how it is called, I think.

—Continue… —he somberly said.

—I have seen your Seers doing their best to get a better image of what’s to come, all in vain, despite your frustration. But I understand, knowing that something terrible is going to happen is terrifying. My visions are clearer than what your Seers could get before it’s too late, but even then it is still pretty vague. It was a dream after all, I’m not sure I remember all the details. But I am sure how we can stop it.

—How?

I smiled. He was still glaring at me, but he had fallen for my words.

—It’s simple. We just need to make sure Violett and Julius get along.

—Get along…

—Yes, they don’t even have to marry, but they need to work together to avoid this crisis, and keep the peace and order in this nation —I said, trying to smile honestly.

The king looked away, deep in thoughts.

—For now, I won’t interfere —he said, after a couple of agonizing moments—, but I’ll be watching you. If you show even a hint of trying to harm Erzebeth or this country, I will bring you to justice.

—I wasn’t lying before when I said that my wish was for a peaceful future, so I have nothing to fear. Putting that aside, I would really appreciate if your Majesty keeps what we have talked here between us alone. I do fear there might be some people in the shadows trying to make that bad ending a reality, and they might target my life, but more importantly, my daughter’s life. The same goes for our Queen, if she becomes aware of my devious nature, she might start to hate me, and we might not be able to get along any longer…

The King sighed.

—I understand. Return to the party and resume your timid facade.

I didn’t want to clarify that the facade he was talking was my true self, so I just bowed my head a bit, and got out of that room. All that time I was inside, my heart was beating really hard and I could barely breathe. I was exhausted. Only by holding Violett in my arms and rubbing her checks against mine was I able to calm down.

After a few minutes of recharging my battery, I returned to the grand hall followed by my maids. The King had apparently left through another door, as he was already at the side of the Queen when we returned. I talked with Christopher and Victoria a bit more about business and trivial matters respectively. At some point, they informed that Erzi had to return to her room to rest, but the guests were welcomed to stay for a dance and dinner. I was ready to leave, happy that not having a partner allowed me to skip such events, when one of the royal family’s attendant called for me.

—Madame Dragonroot, the Queen wishes to speak with you —he said.

I followed him through the aisle into the castle’s inner sections. We went up a few stores, and he took into one of the floating gardens I used to play with Erzi when we were kids. Everything was already set up for a tea party, though she had cups of coffee instead. There were also a few plates of pastries on the table. Gaius was sitting next to his mother, drawing on a piece of paper, while Julius was sleeping on a stroller placed at her other side.

—Did you call for me, your Majesty? —I half jokingly said.

—Don’t start with that. We just can’t chat like we used, now that I have to be the center of attention, so I thought we could have our own private party. Would you mind joining me for a while?

—I’ll be glad —I said as I sit down, with Violett on my arms.

We had a pretty pleasant talk, drank coffee, and ate many pastries.

—Ah! By the way —Erzi suddenly said—, I saw that August called you to talk privately.

I froze for a moment, but tried my best to not let it shown.

—Y-yes?

—I can imagine more or less what he said, “don’t get too close to Erzebeth”. He is a bit too overprotective, and the more close someone else is to me, the more he growls. It’s kind of adorable —she said, trailing off for a moment— B-but don’t let his words bother you. I’ll talk with him later —she added, putting emphasis on the word talk.

—Don’t be too harsh on him…

—Don’t worry about it. So, what did you talk about? I don’t think a simple warning would take that long, and he had a pretty severe face when he came back.

—E-eh? W-well, you know… the future… —was all I could think to say.

Erzi looked at me very intensely, as if trying to read my mind with just sheer willpower. Then she smiled.

—The future, huh? I understand.

I wasn’t sure what she had understood, but I was kind of scared to ask, so I leave it be. We went home shortly afterwards, with me praying that the King will keep his promise to not tell Erzi’s what I have said and how I have said it. I didn’t mind if he and everyone else though bad of me, but Erzi was my precious friend. I couldn’t tolerate being hated by her. Thankfully, a few days later, I received a letter from her, and everything seemed to be normal.

Having taken care of that, I only needed to take care of another matter that was bothering me. I needed to come up with a plan to save Christopher’s life and prevent his family from falling into disgrace and bully the protagonist. But while I was doing that, something amazing happened. Seven months after Violett’s birth, the Rose Nymph finally sprouted.


	14. Just another day.

The heroine of Promises of an Enchanted Heart is a mystery, almost nothing was known about her. Since the player saw the world through their eyes, they would never get to see her face in-game. The closest thing was the cover art of the game, but it only showed her back. I could only be sure she had short blond wavy hair. There were no traces of her birth name either, since the player got to choose it.

—When the Snyder family adopted me, they gave me a new name —she would say in a crucial event that showed her opening to her potential partner.

Finding her before Christopher with only those clues was quite impossible, so I look up for help for a rather unwilling source.

—You want me to look up for blond-haired babies born this year? —Maxwell Conrad said with a very justifiable scowl.

—Well, maybe one year before Violet was born, and one year after, just to be sure.

—May I ask why?

—No.

He glared at me for a few more seconds while I tried to keep up my smile, until he finally gave up and let a sigh escape from his mouth.

—I'll look it up and ask a few colleagues. But you have to know, seeking help for a childbirth is something relatively new. Most people, especially those that are not nobles or merchants just do it by themselves or get help by someone on their families.

—Hmmm, well, I wasn't expecting to find her so easily... —I said, mildly disappointed.

—Muh! —Violett said, and slapped me on the face, managing to distract me.

She was already seven months old, and she had grown a lot since then. Long were the days were she would struggle to raise her neck or sit without falling. She could now sit on her own, and even crawl, but she tended to stay near me whenever I was standing or walking; only going a bit farther when I was sitting. Playing with her was a bit more fun too; she could grab her toys, shake them, and bite them. She has also started to eat solids, which was the perfect excuse for me to try to get involved in cooking. I have been making purées with the help of Gabby, and I have even been trying to get Violett herself involved, keeping her around and letting them taste them during the cooking. She was also more expressive, though she always seemed to have her eyebrows furrowed. When she smiled, she was the cutest. But most importantly, she has started to speak, or at least make simple sounds to demand I pay attention to her.

The Doctor coughed, as I have started to ignore him completely. At that moment, we were having tea at the greenhouse. Winter was approaching, and it was a bit too windy and chill to stay at the gazebo, and I had been looking for an excuse to use the greenhouse. I was very proud of how much the flowers and plants have grown and bloomed, even some monster plants that I had gotten from Victor without Carmila realizing it. The Rose Nymph was still just a seed in a pot, though.

And of course, making the attendants walk all the way through the backyard from the kitchen to where we were would be a bit too much, so I had preemptively prepared a portable stove, a kettle, and a few cups I had ordered to be custom made. I had ask them to be painted with the words "mother", "daughter" and "guest" from my original world, though I stylized them enough for them to look more like scribbles. Ah... the daughter cup wouldn't be filled in several years, but the wait would be worthy.

Hmmm? Since when do I get along with the Doctor to invite him to have some tea? Well... I guess I have learned to overlook his lack of manners and abrasiveness, and he has proven he was quite capable. I started to feel bad for sending him off immediately after our regular checkups.

—Would you mind staying a bit and have some tea with me? —I politely asked the first time.

He looked at me for almost an entire minute as if I had grown a second head, but eventually agreed to it. Once we had everything set up, though, the ambient became a bit awkward. I just didn't know what to say and he didn't seem interested in starting the conversation. That's it, until something crossed my mind.

—Y-you know, I have been learning magic! —I said, quite proud of myself.

—Oh? Really? —he said in a deadpan tone.

He knew my vitals, so it was obvious for him I couldn't use magic even if my life depended of it.

—I meant as an academic subject. Knowledge by itself has some worth, even if I can't apply it myself.

Honestly, I was expecting a bit more of the one who would become the Academy's director. But apparently, my words did reach him through his cynical filter.

—That's true. Theoretical magic is a field studied in other nations, but even then it is mostly overshadowed by practicing what is already established. Nowadays there are only two or three new spells developed in a decade all over the world. I suppose having people who can't use magic to focus on the theory might yield some results.

—Oh! —I said. The idea of coming up with new spells hadn't even crossed my mind.

—Of course, I suspect for someone like you, the idea of coming up with new spells didn't cross your mind until now.

—Hmmph! Just who do you think I am? Of course I have thought of it —I said, trying my best to hide the fact he had been able to read my mind —, but, you know, I still learning the basics, it is too early for me to attempt to come up with something nobody has before.

After all, Marcus could only teach me when they came to visit, usually after they went to fulfill a quest in the nearby woods. Apparently they were one of the only places where they could find horned wolves.

—I suppose you are right about that —he said, genuinely sympathetically. Then he smirked—, would the Madame be interesting in learning medicinal magic?

—Mmm... I have heard it is quite difficult.

—It is. You have to be able to understand how the whole body works, the bones, the muscles, veins, arteries, organs, and even neurons. You can't just chant "Heal" and expect the patient to regenerate a missing limb. So, what is your answer?

—It will be quite pointless to teach me, I'll never have the chance to use it and I doubt I could come up with a new spell even if I dedicate all of my life to it —I admitted—, but if you are willing to teach me, I'll listen.

He smiled, and since then, he had been giving me a few lessons while we drink tea. My basic knowledge in anatomy and medical terms made understanding him a bit more easily, unlike the esoteric and mystic sounding terms that Marcus kept using.

So our third gathering ended up lasting almost two hours, but it was getting late, and Violett was starting to demand to be put to sleep. The Doctor and I returned to the main house and from there we bid our farewells. I fed Violett and sung to her until she fell asleep. It was pretty early for me, though; the sun just was setting, so I decided to read a book instead. 

I might have gotten a bit carried away by the plot; it was a romance novel in which the author tended to left cliffhangers at the end to force one to keep reading. I forced myself to put it away when Sophie came to check up why my lights were still turned on, and only then I realized how much time has actually passed. It must have been around midnight already.

—I'm sorry, I'll go to sleep now —I said, and I intended to do so, but even after 15 minutes of trying, I couldn't close my eyes. Something on the back of my mind was bothering me.

I checked Violett, but she was sleeping peacefully. I looked through my window, into the backyard and the forest that extended behind the greenhouse. I felt a chill run my back.

—You are imagining things —I said to myself.

The house was protected by a barrier, even if something was out there, it could never reach us. Especially not at night when the barrier was reinforced. I closed my window and the blinds, just to reassure myself, but since the feeling wasn't disappearing, I went to the kitchen for a midnight snack. As I ate an improvised sandwich, with a glass of milk at the side, I kept looking through the doors at the backyard. I heard a noise, like a branch being stepped, but not quite. And I made the stupid decision to go to investigate. I stepped barefoot and only wearing my nightgown out of the mansion, and walked towards the forest. I felt... angry? I wanted to scream to the fictional intruder to beat it and let me sleep, but I still had enough self control to stop myself.

—This is stupid... —I once again said to myself, and turned around.

I remember thinking that maybe hugging Violett would allow me to fall asleep. At that moment, I heard the wind whistling, as if something was approaching me at a quick speed. Maybe a second later, I heard glass breaking. I turned around as quick as I could, but I lost my balance and fell backwards in the grass. As I was falling, I managed to see a figure hiding between the trees, too close to be outside of the barrier. They disappeared after a moment, just as some of my attendants started to come out of the mansion, apparently alerted by the sound of glass breaking.

—Madame, are you alright? —Iridia asked as she helped me stand up.

—Yes, yes, but I think I saw someone inside of the barrier.

—What? Only those with authorization can pass through it, and we would notice if it had been broken —Carmila said. From her expression, I could see she wasn't doubting my words, but trying to make sense out of them.

—In any case, we need to secure the Madame and the young Lady, and inspect the area —Nora said, commanding the few attendants that knew how to wield a weapon.

—Let's not be so hastily. It's just as Lady Carmila said, the barrier is still up, so nobody could have entered it —Iridia spoke, trying to calm everyone.

—M-madame... —Sophie called me, looking at something lying in the grass, a few meters to the right to where I had fall.

It was a dart, covered in what I could presume was some sort of drug or poison. My attendants gasped at the sight of it and the implications of its existence, and insisted on me going back to the mansion. But I was intrigued by another detail of the dart. It didn't hit me, because something had intercepted it, a small, bullet-like seed, was still piercing it. I looked at the opposite side, from where this projectile had to be shot, and there was the greenhouse, with one of its glass panels broken from the inside-out. Despite the opposition of Carmila, Nora, and Sophie, I went to the door and opened it. There, on a pot over a table, was the Rose Nymph.


	15. Last Dinosaur

Victor had told me about the Nymphs a few times when he had visited me to help me with the greenhouse. There wasn’t too much to say though, they were quite elusive creatures. Their habitat was pretty deep into the forest, and they really liked their privacy.

—For the longest time, they were believed to be just myths and legends —Victor said—, but in most recent times they have been forced to come in contact with people as their forest become smaller. A few researchers have been able to study them in exchange for protection, and a few botanists have claimed to have been able to grow their own. The reports have a few conflicting points, so it is hard to know what is true and what is not.

There were many varieties of them too, each one linked to a type of flower or plant, but their appearance was pretty much the same in every record of them.

—There is a legend of a man being saved from drowning on a river by a beautiful woman —Victor told me on another occasion, pretty much unprompted—, but when he saw her closely, he saw that her hair was like vines, and her clothes were actually leaves. Flowers were growing from her bare skin too. She was a Nymph.

About their personality, they generally acted as the solemn guardians of their forest, elegant and stoic, yet quite brutal if attacked. The Rose Nymphs were specially known to be cold and deathly.

The one that was resting on my lap was anything but that. She was quite small, with a body and head that looked like meat buns, and tiny chubby stumps as limbs. She had three fingers in each, though they were barely noticeable. Her skin was slightly green, her hair was made of leaves, and there was a rose growing at the side of her head. Personality wise… she was a crybaby. From the moment I picked her up, despite the warnings of Carmila, she refused to leave my side. When we came back into the house, I put her on the table for a moment, and she started weeping really loud. No wonder why some people think they are related to Mandrakes. She even managed to wake up Violett, who had slept soundly through the whole ordeal. She wasn’t angry or scared, just looked pissed that someone had woken her so rudely. She fell asleep rather quickly afterwards, though.

—I’ll be calling for the investigation department first thing in the morning —Carmila said after giving me a warm cup of milk—, and also the company that provide us with our barrier. In the meantime, Mr. Adrian will be watching the outside of the mansion, and Nora and everyone else will be guarding your door. Please try to rest now, we’ll keep you safe, Madame.

—Thank you, I’ll try to sleep a bit —I said, but I wasn’t too sure I would be able to do so.

I just couldn’t understand why someone would attack me. If they were planning on robbing the house they had bypassed the barrier already, they only needed to wait for me to get in, and so that was unlikely. I was aware that I wasn’t liked by some nobles, and maybe my friendship with the queen had made them jealous, but for them to actually try to hurt me was a bit too much.

—Ugh… —my head hurt, probably because I was tired and over thinking too much.

I went to bed, with Violett still on my arms. I didn’t felt entirely comfortable with leaving her in her crib, despite it being just a few centimeters from my bed. The Nymph pushed her way under my arm, and I had to force myself to ignore a couple of dull thorns she had on her forehead. Despite everything, I fell asleep almost immediately. The next morning, I woke up later than usual. Apparently, Carmila had asked everyone to let me sleep a bit more, but Violett slapped my face and demanded to be fed after just half an hour more of sleep.

—Maybe I should go to the city to inform the authorities in person —I said, as I entered the dining room, still wearing my pajamas.

—Madame, you don’t have to worry about it, Mr. Adrian, Iridia, and Sophie were already on their way, with the letters I wrote myself, before the light of dawn reached us —Carmila said, slightly proud of herself. The dark circles under her eyes indicated that she hadn’t gotten too much sleep.

Just as Gabby was serving our breakfast, I heard the sound of steps approaching, and suddenly a group of guards was surrounding us.

—Rosanne! —Erzi yelled as she made her way through her soldiers, sounding very concerned. She held me by the shoulders and hugged me— Thanks Enki, you are fine. Y-you are fine, right? How is Violett?

—We are fine —I said, hugging her back. She was shivering.

After a moment, she let go of me and faced the soldiers she had brought with her, looking imposing and commanding.

—Secure the perimeter and investigate every speck of dust and every blade of grass! —she ordered.

—Yes, your Majesty! —the armed ones said, and broke their formation.

I asked Carmila to show them the dart that we had found, which we had only touched with a cloth.

—That way we might be able to find the culprit through their fingerprints —I had said.

—Hmmm, you can identify someone with those? —She asked, as she and everyone else looked at their hands.

I had forgotten, in this world forensic investigations and the like were conducted with the help of magic. There wasn’t much necessity to develop technology or methods like the ones used in my world, when they could just find someone with a spell. Still, it was better to not contaminate the evidence anyways.

—Would you like to have breakfast with us? —I asked Erzi—, it might not be as tasty as what they might serve you at the palace, but I imagine you came out without eating anything, right?

—Ah, that’s right. Anything will do, but I’m dying for a cup of coffee.

While the soldiers started scanning everything in the backyard and the forest next to it with their own magic and several magic instruments, Gabby hurriedly prepared something for the Queen. She was obviously nervous to have such high profile person as her patron, but she didn’t made any mistakes. The coffee was ready first, and Erzi drank it black with just a spoon of sugar. She was quite pleased with the taste and aroma of her beverage, but she was really surprised when Gabby put her plate on the table.

—Oh my, and what this might be? —she asked.

—I-It’s a recipe that the Madame herself came up with. I can assure it is delicious… If I can say so myself —Gabby said.

It was nothing too complicated, just a recipe from my old world, which I had asked Gabby to replicate some time ago. A folded corn tortilla with chicken stuffing, covered in a slightly spicy sauce, and crumbs of white cheese over it. It was really tasty, and it had become a recurring plate in our menu. It didn’t crossed my mind how foreigner that dish might have looked to someone without my memories until it was already in front of Erzi. She took a bite of it, and looked quite pleased with the flavor and texture, allowing Gabby to breath more easily.

—Now —she said between bites—, could you explain me what happened? The letter you sent lack details, it only said that you had been attacked by someone who bypassed your barrier, and requested and investigation team.

Ah, concise and to the point, just as how I would expect from Carmila’s writing.

—Well, there is not much to say, that’s exactly what happened —I said—, but more importantly, how did my letter ended up with you? I doubt my attendant would be so arrogant to send it to the Queen herself.

—Ah, no… —Erzi quietly said— I… might have requested to be informed if anything related to you arrived.

She was embarrassed, it was adorable.

—Thank you for worrying for me, but people could resent if you give me this much attention —I said, and immediately bit my tongue. I didn’t wanted her to think I was blaming her for what had happened, nor that she would feel guilty, it was truly a slip of my mind. I tried to change the topic as quick as I could —, by the way, it is fine to leave your sons alone?

—Mmm? Ah! They are not alone, August is taking care of them —she answered. She smiled when she saw the confusion on my face—. He is quite capable of taking care of them, he even read the notes you gave me.

THAT person did? I just couldn’t believe it.

We talked a bit more, before we were interrupted by a commotion coming up from the path that leads to the pier.

—Your Majesty, Madame Dragonroot’s boat have returned, but… —A guard came to tell us.

Later I would come to realize that Erzi and her soldiers have come in my own boat, pulled by Adrian, which was quicker than any transport they could prepare without more time. Sophie and Iridia had stayed behind at the city, as the boat was already over its normal capacity, and they still had to contact our barrier’s provider.

—But what? —Erzi asked.

—Mr. Adrian brought more people aside from Madame Dragonroot’s attendants.

—What? We are in the middle of an investigation, I told them to not let anyone come this way!

Erzi stood up and started to walk towards the pier. I tried to follow her, but she stopped me.

—Stay here, it might be dangerous.

—I’ll stay at a safe distance —I said with decision.

I suspected already who they might be, but I couldn’t say it out loud. The Queen looked at me for a moment, and then directed a few of her guards to stay at my side at all times, while another three would stay in the mansion and protect Violett, who was being held by Carmila. When we arrived to the pier, the boat was surrounded by soldiers, with their arms ready. Both Adrian and the passengers had their hands on the air. Two of them were Sophie and Iridia, of course. Anna, Neil, and their Grampa were also there, as I suspected.

—Madame, I’m so glad you are fine! —Anna said, looking relieved.

Their old man had a couple of tears on his eyes, and Neil looked pissed off, but not against me or the soldiers.

—Tell me you have figured who is the idiot I need to blow up into pieces —he said.

I was actually a bit shocked to see him being as passionate about anything other than teaching magic. I guess he came to care about his pupil. I was confused when I saw who the other two passengers were, no one else but the Doctor and the Botanist. Victor looked worried, and even a bit scared, which was understandable given the situation. Maxwell, on the other hand, looked focused, and didn’t even wait for any sign before getting out of the boat.

—Doctor Conrad, what might you be doing here? —Erzi said, discretely putting herself between everyone and me.

—Isn’t it obvious, my patient was attacked just last night —he said—, it is my duty both as her physician and confidant to see if she is healthy, and that the investigation to find the culprit is properly done.

—C-confidant… —I muttered.

The Queen stood unfazed, but after a moment, her body relaxed.

—You have taken care of Rosanne and myself, and I know your credentials as a scholar in other fields, so I will allow you to help us, but you and everyone else will remain under close surveillance.

—I understand.

I suspected Erzi was thinking she couldn’t discard them as suspects, so it was easier to have them close. We returned to the house to continue with the investigation, surrounded by both sides by soldiers. I threw a glance to the most likely responsible for calling everyone.

—I-I’m sorry, Madame —Sophie said—, I felt they could help; they are… your friends.

Friends? I would be lying if I said it wasn’t reassuring having them all next to me, and seeing them worry for me, but is that enough? In any case, the only other visitor we were expecting was the provider of our barrier, who took his time to get there. In the meantime, we all sat at the gazebo’s table, while the guards kept searching for clues on the backyard and the forest surrounding it.

—Madame, if I might ask you —Victor said, after giving a sip to a lemonade that the attendants had brought to us—, what is that creature sitting in your shoulder?

—Oh, she is the one that saved me yesterday from the dart —I said—, she is the Rose Nymph that sprout from the seed you help me plant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good evening, I would like to know if anyone would be interesed in an audio of this story? I could go for the route of making a patreon and releasing the audio to donors first, and then to everyone else a few days later, but maybe it is too much. What does everyone think?


	16. Eye in the Sky.

I was expecting some confusion, even hoping someone would spit their lemonades. But I wasn’t prepared to see almost everyone looking at me as if I had suddenly grew horns. Even the Queen herself was lost for words, though she managed to remember to cover her mouth. The only ones who remained composed were the Doctor and Anna, the latter seemingly sharing my own confusion at everyone’s expression. Maxwell was too busy re-reading the reports of the guards and everyone’s testimony to pay much attention to our conversation. 

—That’s a Rose Nymph? That can’t be… —Neil was the first one who dared to speak. 

I nodded, and he didn’t seem to distrust me, but he still couldn’t believe it. 

—And you said it sprouted directly from the seed? —Erzi asked.

—Yeah, even early yesterday there was nothing visible on her pot. What’s so weird about it?

—M-madame —Victor intervened—, I might have forgotten to mention something important about the Nymphs on our talks. Those that have been sprouted by other people, they… well; they had allegedly sprouted as a regular sapling and then grow into a tree, before they would start to act like a creature. This whole process would take years, even most of their caretakers’ lifetime. It is unheard that one will just sprout like this. 

—Huh? W-wait? What does that mean? —I asked.

—I’m not sure, it could be something as simple as a mutation, or maybe it had to do something with how you planted it. 

—I… I don’t think I have done anything aside from what you taught me —I said.

But something did come to my mind. I had sung Violett to sleep while I was at the greenhouse a few times, and sometimes I would talk to the plants, even making voices for them. But I couldn’t tell them, it was just too embarrassing. It was a secret only between me and the plants. And Carmila, who caught me in the middle of it once. 

—Couldn’t it have sensed that you were in danger, and sprouted to protect you? —Anna said.

—Could she? —I asked, looking at the Nymph, still sitting over my shoulder while eating a cookie. 

—Well, some plants do bear fruits sooner when they are putting under stress —Victor said—, and that might apply to plant monsters too, but… to come up from the seed as an immature creature. I can’t say for sure, maybe if I take it to my study and do a few tests.

The Nymph suddenly stood up and threw a hiss towards the botanist. Or at least, it attempted to do so; it sounded more like an angry kitten. Then she hugged my face, pricking my cheek with her tiny and numb thorns. 

—I’m sorry, Victor, I think she is still too young —I said—, maybe in a few months she’ll be a bit more independent?

—I understand. Still, this is a pretty unique situation; please allow me to take notes of her development.

—Of course. If she agrees with it.

I looked at the tiny Nymph and waited for a response. After a few seconds, she nodded and let go of my face, sitting once more on my shoulder and back to eating her cookie. 

—I-impressive —was everything Victor could say. 

—Have you given her a name? —Anna asked. 

—Hmmm, not yet. Frankly, with everything that happened, naming her didn’t even cross my mind. 

I have never been too good at coming up with names. Even Violett’s name was a suggestion of my late husband. Well, it would be more accurate to say he mentioned we should go with a flower pattern following my own name. But even if I used that pattern, I was already called Rosanne, it would be too confusing to name the Rose Nymph anything based on her own flower motif. And calling her any other flower’s name would have been even more confusing. 

—Then, how about Eve? —I muttered. 

—Oh ho! Like the Holy Saintesses? —Marcus asked.

—Eh? W-well… —I stuttered.

I had only thought of that name because it sounded like Ivy, but not as obviously plant-themed. I had forgotten that in this world, a few mythological and historical figures had shared that name. The supposed mother of all humans, a young girl who lead an army to victory against an invading force, and a nun who had spent all of her life protecting a forest from being turned into a desert, among others.   
All of them had something in common, green eyes and the ability to use holy magic. Some even believed they were the same entity, reincarnating again and again to protect and guide humanity. The protagonist of Promises of an Enchanted Hearth was even called an “Eve” a few times.   
I felt a bit bad giving such prominent name to the Nymph, some of the other nobles might think I was intentionally trashing the previous bearers of the name. But at least one of those figures was a guardian of the forest, like the Nymphs were said to be, so I could use that as an excuse. Before I could think more in depth about it, Iridia came and called for my attention.   
—The agent of our barrier’s provider has arrived —she said—, but due to our current situation, I have asked him to wait outside for the moment.   
—Ah, thank you. I’ll go to see them now —I replied, and turned toward my guest as I stood up—, if you excuse me for a moment, the place where we keep our anchor is very cramped and must be pretty dusty, so I’ll just go and show where they can find it.   
I made a big deal out of it, because I was sure they all would insist on following me. My words seemed to be effective for most of them, but Erzi insisted on me keeping two guards near at all times.   
—Madame, please allow me to accompany you —Neil said just as I was leaving the gazebo—, I might be able to spot a fault in their spells that they might try to hide, and one more person will not make it too much cramped, would it?  
—I-I suppose it wouldn’t… —I said, not daring to confirm or deny his statement. Then I hurried back to the interior of the house, before someone else came with a convenient excuse to follow me. On my way, I asked Gabby to keep pastries and tea going to our guesses, to keep them busy and distracted. I also checked up on Violett, who had been under Sophie’s care while I was busy, guarded by a guard. It hurt to just throw a glance at her from the door, as I really wanted to go an hug her, but I needed to deal with this first. Just as we were approaching the front door, Iridia told me something I should know about our visitor.   
—He is one of the dwarf people, so please don’t be too shocked at his appearance —she said, and I nodded.   
I have heard about dwarves existing in this world, as well as elves, and other fantasy humanoid races. They even appeared as background characters in some images of the game, perhaps as some sort of Easter egg hunt, or maybe to make the world look more diverse. But I have not seen one during my life as Rosanne, since there weren’t too many of them living in this country to begin with, and the majority of those that did lived in the countryside, away from the capital.   
In any case, I was prepared to meet one for the first time in my life. It was actually kind of thrilling. But when we arrived at the entrance, my expectations were thoroughly subverted. That person was short, and a bit stout, but that was just about anything he had in common with the image of dwarves I had in my mind. There was no sign of a beard, and his facial structure was actually quite feminine. He was wearing a pretty sharp suit, with a few gold accessories.   
—Ah, Madame Dragonroot, pleased to meet you —he said, bowing his head— I am Lucius Forte, representative of Aegis Incorporated. I was informed you had a problem with one of our products, yes?  
—Y-yes —I said, still a bit surprised by his appearance.  
—I would say that your product letting someone throw a dart against one of your clients is a bit more than a “problem” —Neil said, slightly pissed off.  
—That… that could be the case. I ask you to forgive me for misspeaking. Could you show me where you keep your anchor?  
—Of course, please follow me.   
With Iridia guiding us, we reached the basement of the mansion. It was relatively clean, but it was a bit dark even as we hold to some glowing crystals. In a corner of that room, right next to our water purification system, was the anchor of our barrier. It was actually shaped like a cube, metallic in appearance, and it wasn’t bigger than the other boxes we had lying around in that room. Lucius touched it, and it started to glow. Soon it was displaying something that resembled a hologram, floating right in front of us.   
That was a spell, an engraving of sorts that allowed objects to be enchanted. It looked like a group of pretty much every magic circle in a fantasy world, and the me of a few months ago would have been mesmerized and awestruck at that spectacle. But thanks to Neil’s lessons, even I was able to understand it… in general terms. The circles that were concentric among themselves were like lines of code, with those outside being as separate modules, but they all worked together like gears.   
—Everything seems to be working properly —Lucius said, after he and Neil had been glancing at the magic circles for a few minutes.

—That seems to be the case, but how could someone manage to cross the barrier then? —the mage replied. 

—The only way would it be if someone already inside let them come in. 

—The only ones allowed to do so are my closer attendants and myself —I said—, might you be implying some of them could cooperate with the attacker?

—N-no, of course not, Madame! —Lucius quickly said. He looked a bit more scared than I would have imagined. 

I smiled at his reply, satisfied. Only Sophie and Carmila knew the password after all, and there was no way either could betray me that way. I have been trying to be on good terms with everyone else too, so there was no reason for any to be disgruntled with me. At least not to go to that length to help someone attack me. I let a sigh escape from my mouth, and took at look at the magic circles myself. As expected, the details eluded me, there were a lot of symbols that I didn’t had any idea what they meant. Something caught my attention, though.

—Neil, this line here… —I said, pointing to a string of symbols. 

I meant to ask him to explain me what they meant, but he took a look at it, and stood quiet for a moment. His face showed that he was in deep thought. 

—Y-yeah, that could be it —he finally said.

—What is it? —Lucius said, three seconds before I could ask the same.

—This part over here might be causing weak spots on the barrier —Neil replied, and went on to explain how, in very confusing terms. 

The only thing that I did understand was that it shouldn’t be a problem for perfectly spherical barrier, but the part of property that was covered by the barrier was wider than it was long, so it had been set to be like an ellipse. This would have caused problems with the flow of mana, and thus, weak spots.

—Madame Dragonroot, please allow me to apologize in the name of our business. The technician must have not changed to the right formula after the shape of the barrier was set, it is our entire fault. 

—Ah, please don’t worry about it, things like that happen.

—That’s not it, Madame —Neil said—, even if the barrier had weak spots, nobody would have known.

—Except the technician… —Lucius admitted.

We went outside, meeting up first with the Doctor and the Queen. Lucius agreed to cooperate with the investigation, allowing her Majesty’s guards to look up in their private files to see who had installed the anchor, and to be sure that the whole business wasn’t cooperating with the intruder. 

Before he returned to the capital, Lucius reconfigured and tested the barrier to be sure there weren’t any weak spots anymore. A few hours later, most of the guards also left after they had picked up every piece of evidence they thought they could possibly find. Erzi wanted to leave a few guards behind, but with the barrier fixed, I managed to convince her it wasn’t necessary. Victor and Maxwell went back to the city with them, and the three adventurers were the last to leave.

—Can I ask you one thing, Madame? —Neil said. 

—Of course, what is it?

—How did you know that line was causing the problem with the barrier?

—Ummm… it’s a bit embarrassing to say it, but I didn’t know. That part just seemed a bit off. It was a hunch, I guess.

—Hmmm, I see. Well, we are lucky you were able to find it. This might have gotten us closer to find the culprit.

—And to find why they would attack me —I said. 

As I stood on the pier and waved them goodbye, I felt a chilly wind. It made me remember that we were just a few months from the end of the year and the start of winter, and two more months later, we’ll be celebrating Violett’s first birthday. That was something I was really looking for, despite the feeling of worry I had in the back on my mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last week was my birthday, so I wanted to upload this chapter and a special one together, but was too tired from work. Next chapter will be from one of Rossane's attendants POV.


	17. Late at Night.

I was born 26 years ago, and received the name Iridia from my parents. They owned a store at a relatively small city on the mountains, but I managed to get my first job working as a maid at the capital after my 18th birthday. That wouldn’t have been possible if not by some connections I had made through our church. After that, I started working for the Cygnus household almost a year before the Lord married Madame Dragonroot. I was meant to serve as her personal attendant, so I received special training from the head maid, Carmila. During those months, we became really close; I would even dare to call us friends.   
It was a bit disappointing when I was informed the Madame was bringing one attendant with her, and refused to change our roles. I could understand her though, Sophie had worked for her for a long time; she was almost part of her family while we were strangers. Still, Carmila was not one to bend the rules, and tried to integrate Sophie with the rest of the maids, and sending me to take care of the Madame. I think it was her way to make the Madame open her heart to us. But more often than not, the Madame would sent me back and ask for Sophie instead. I wasn’t going to give up so easily. If I couldn’t be her personal attendant, at least I would get in her good graces.  
—Good afternoon, Madame. I brought you a cup of tea —I said.   
She was reading a book in her room, and she didn’t acknowledge my presence until I was right in front of her, placing the cup on the table. She raised her cold stare from the book and looked straight at me. I felt a chill running through my back.  
—Thanks —she said, and returned to her reading as if nothing.  
I smiled and give a slight bow, even when I was sure she wasn’t watching me. I left the room and walked a bit away from the door before I had to support my back against the wall. My heart was beating really fast and my hands were shaking. The Dragonroot were said to be descendants of the goddess Lilith, and at that moment I was sure it was true. I was really glad to have the opportunity to work for someone like her. From that day, I kept trying my best to earn her approval and not disappoint her. I also tried to stop the attendants that were spreading the nasty rumors that had been made up to smear our Madame’s reputation.   
After our Lord died, a few of them quit their jobs rather than to work for our Madame, and others were fired by Carmila after they became negligent with their jobs. Then, our Madame found out she was pregnant, and she… changed. At first, she was still distant and cold, but started to spend less time secluded in her room. She became more willing to listen to what Carmila would say, or rather, she wouldn’t ignore her like before. She became a bit more docile, I suppose. We also heard her singing when she though nobody would be listening. Once, I caught the doctor listening to her through the door, mesmerized by her voice.  
—Doctor Conrad? Is something wrong? —I asked. 

He was obviously startled by my sudden interruption, but he managed to hide it pretty well. 

—No, no, I just forgot something in the room —he whispered—, but I didn’t wanted to interrupt.

I got closer to the door and was about to knock, but it was too much of a waste to cut short her singing just like that. So I closed my eyes and waited until she had finished. 

—Madame, the Doctor came to retrieve something that he left behind. Could he come in?

—W-wait a moment! —A voice came from the room. 

That was definitively our Madame’s voice, but it also wasn’t, somehow. The cadence and attitude behind it wasn’t the same. After a couple of seconds, her usual voice came through and gave the doctor the go-ahead to enter her room. I also went inside, acting as if I was there to clean up a bit. My true intentions were far from that, though. 

—Madame, that was a beautiful song you were singing —I said.

—I-I don’t know what you are talking about. Escort the Doctor and make sure he isn’t forgetting anything else! —she said, scowling and pouting a bit. 

I smiled, barely avoiding giggling in front of her. This aspect of her was also… interesting to observe. Once she gave birth to young lady Violett, our Madame suddenly became more talkative and expressive, as if the wall surrounding her heart had collapsed all in one move. Seeing her take care of her baby really pulled the strings from my heart. Nothing would have made me happier if those days of gently calm would have continued for ever, but someone had to ruin it. They attacked our Madame, they DARED to attack her. Thankfully, the Nymph intervened and the idiot ran away. Eve, as our Madame choose to call her, had my gratitude, and I made sure to always give her an extra cookie. If it hadn’t been for her… I don’t even want to think about it. 

There was a big investigation the next morning, and everyone who had grown to like our Madame came to visit to make sure she and the young lady were fine. The Queen had brought her elite team of investigators, dressed as simple guards so that our Madame wouldn’t worry about it. It was determined that the attacker had take advantage of a weakness in the barrier’s settings, so the investigation focused on finding the technician who had set it up. 

Time kept passing, and while the Queen and the doctor came to visit and give updates of the situation to our Madame, they couldn’t reveal everything yet. Our Madame kept telling us she was fine, but for someone who watched her as closely as I did, it was obvious she was still worried about the whole incident. Even if the barrier was fixed, she probably feared that someone could come for her or the young lady at any time. I caught her awake very late at night in several occasions. 

—M-madame, might you still be worrying about what happened? —I boldly asked once.  
—Hmmm? About what? —she said with a careless smile—, Ah! About THAT? No, of course not. We are safe here.   
She looked away, through the window of her room.   
—I have always been a light sleeper, and I think there has been small earthquakes as of lately, haven’t you felt them?   
—I… I can’t say I have, but things are slightly moved from where they were every morning. Gabby was complaining someone moved the things in her pantry.  
—There you have it. We might need to ask someone to give a proper check to the house, but I don’t remember anything about a big earthquake, so…  
—Madame?  
—Ah, never mind that, please don’t worry about it. I’ll go to sleep in a moment.  
—Then, please excuse me.   
I left the room, but I couldn’t just stop ignore her. I have been staying in contact with Father Elias, a priest from our church that I had met when I was just a kid, and who I considered a second father. In my next letter to him, I expressed what I thought of the situation, and hoped to get advice from him. In less than a week, I received a reply from him with a pretty good idea.

—Madame, this might help you sleep a bit better —I told her, presenting her a pillow cover, in which I had knitted the “sleep” rune on.

Runes were not as powerful as conventional magic, and some even thought they didn’t work at all. But our church had been teaching them to commoners, since everyone could make use of them, even if they couldn’t use magic otherwise. 

—Thank you very much —our Madame said with a big smile.

I was going to explain to her that it was an actual magic item and not just a gift from a concern employee, but… well, she was happy thinking it was just a pillow cover, maybe I should let her believe it was just that. And the rune did help her to sleep more, but I still found her awake late at night every now and then. 

Eventually we reached the end of the year. Our Madame came up with a peculiar celebration, exchanging gifts among ourselves. There was a price limit, and we didn’t know who we were giving gifts to, only a list of things they liked. I knew from the list of my “Secret Santa”, as our Madame called it, that it was not hers. Still, I bought her a small pendant, just a little detail. I wasn’t the only one who got that idea, and our Madame got like seven extra presents. 

The Doctor came to visit her a few days after that, and he looked pretty distraught from the moment he arrived, though he tried to hide it. It had been snowing, so our Madame met up with him at the mansion’s drawing room. I was attending them, while Sophie was playing with the young lady on a nearby couch. Our Madame asked me to bring a present she had gotten for him, a beautifully made scarf, although the colors and patterns were a bit lacking. I suppose it fit him well enough. 

—T-Thanks —the Doctor muttered dryly, before clearing his throat and speaking more clearly— I mean, thank you. It is a pretty considerate detail. 

—Don’t mind it —our Madame said with a smile —, I would feel bad if I didn’t give you anything after all you have done for us this year. 

—You wouldn’t happen to have gone to the city to buy these, right?

—Of course not, I sent my request to a textile shop. I don’t even feel comfortable leaving the house —our Madame said, and immediately caught on what had escaped from her mouth—, please don’t pay attention to that…

—I’m afraid I can’t do that —the doctor said—, but if it helps in any way, I got news about the investigation. Not all are good, though, but I think you would want to know regardless…

Our Madame nodded.

—First of all, Victor found out the substance coating the dart was a paralyzing toxin. The weird thing, or actually, weird things about it, is that it is really powerful even in small doses; it is usually used only to incapacitate huge beasts. It can be diluted, but the sample from the dart was not. For someone of your size, it might have stopped your heart with just a scratch. It is also something rarely found on this part of the world, it can only be extracted by a marine plant monster that lives near the Equator. Victor also said it would be next to impossible to make one survive outside of its ecosystem, they are pretty delicate. And the toxin breaks down really quickly; it can only barely survive the trip from there to here. However managed to get it here in time needs to have the funds to do so.

—I… I see —our Madame said, firmly holding her cup of tea. 

—And about the suspect, we found him…

—Oh! Y-you did? —our Madame said, surprised. 

—Well, her Majesty guards did, but… 

—But?

The doctor took a deep breath.

—He was already dead. It seems like he killed himself. But he was just a farmer from the countryside, nothing seems to point to him having even met you before, or that he could obtain the toxin in any way, or that he would know about the weakness on the barrier.

—Someone must have hired him…

—That seems to be the case. We suspect it must have been another noble, but our only lead is the technician that installed your barrier. He has been detained already, but he denies having told anyone about it or even had been aware of what he did. He said he was a rookie at that point, and must have made a mistake. The records of the employees agree with his declaration, and even when bounded by a truth spell, he continues saying that he didn’t do anything.


	18. Devil came to me.

Our Madame was obviously worried, but she noticed how frustrated the doctor was when confessing that, basically, they were no further to solve the case than they were the first day.

—I’m sure we’ll find out the mastermind behind it, we need to just think outside of the box and find more evidence.

—Mmmm… perhaps you are right. In any case, I have contacted with someone who could work as your bodyguard, and I trust her to be able to keep you safe even if you were to visit the city. The problem is that she is… sort of a mess. She needs some time to take care of some business, so she’ll arrive in two months.

—That’s perfect, with any luck it will coincide with Violett’s birthday’s party! —our Madame said, drawing a big smile just by thinking about it—. You will have to come too, doctor.

—I wouldn’t miss it for anything —the doctor replied, not sounding too enthusiastic, but only to tease her.

Our Madame was preparing her retort, when she yawned.

—Excuse me, doctor. I didn’t get to sleep well yesterday.

—Are you sure it was just yesterday? —the Doctor said, and I saw our Madame’s facade start to break.

—W-what might you mean by that?

—You don’t know? Shall I ask your attendants about it? —the Doctor said, raising his eyes towards me—, has she been sleeping properly?

The appropriate answer in cases like this would be to back up the words of our employers, no matter what they said. Doing otherwise would probably put us on the risk of losing our jobs and our reliability, even if we did it with the best intentions. Yet, I didn’t doubt for a moment to speak my mind. 

—To be honest, Doctor, she has been having problems falling asleep almost since the accident.

—I-Iridia! —Our Madame said, panicking— I swear it’s not because of that! I-It’s because of the tremors! I’m a light sleeper, so even if they are small they tend to wake me up!

The Doctor looked at her in disbelief, but after a few seconds he let out a sight and started to look up something in his bag. I could swear, for an instant I saw him smiling. 

—Have your attendants make a tea with these leaves —he said, presenting a jar with dry leaves to her—, only half a spoon, right before you go to sleep.

—Thank you… —our Madame said, embarrassed. 

After that day, and thanks to the tea, she was able to sleep all through the night, and was looking more rested every day. The preparations for the young lady’s birthday continued, and I came to notice she was becoming a lot more verbal than before, making simple sounds to refer to things. Our Madame was trying to make her say “Mama” all the time, but the baby ignored her, even slapping her whenever she grow tired of her attempts.

—Ah, so this is the power of a villainess —our Madame said, almost crying but with a smile on her face. I didn’t dare to ask her what she meant. 

A few days later I received a dreadful letter from Father Elias. Our church has helped lots of people, and has as its goal to bring a bright future to everyone, but there has always been a power struggle at the top, with several factions trying to gain control over it. Recently, a group that was in direct ideological conflict with my own had convinced enough people to boss everyone around, and I wasn’t the exception. I disagreed with what they asked me to do, but I had no other choice. I needed to talk with my Madame about it. 

—Madame, I… I’m very sorry, but I have to go back to my hometown for some time, and I might not get back in time for the little lady’s birthday.

—Oh? Is that so? —she said, sounding genuinely sad because of it—, that’s really a shame, I would have loved if everyone was here for her special day, but we’ll save a slice of cake for you.

Her comforting smile was too bright. 

—Thank you, Madame. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible. 

And I did exactly that, I rode all the way to the meeting place and back without any rest. Both my back and my Kelpie were pretty hurt when we arrived at the Cygnus’ pier. Of course, it was already too late, the party was over, the guest had left already, and the other attendants were cleaning already. And just as promised, my Madame had left me a slice of cake, one with a cute flower over it. 

—Thank you very much; I’ll save it for tomorrow, if you don’t mind.

—Of course, it is probably too much sugar for this late —she said. 

I offered to help with the clean up, but my colleagues insisted on me going to rest. I’m very grateful for having people worked with people like them, and that they were working for my Madame. I went to my room and slept for an hour or so. One of the tremors had been strong enough to wake me up, but the sleep rune I had carved under my bed was still intact. This one was more elaborated than the one I had knitted on the pillow case, so everyone else should be fast asleep.

It was almost the agreed hour, so I got up and got ready. I went to the basement, carrying a glowing crystal, and stood right in front of the anchor of the barrier. As part of my training to be my Madame’s personal assistant, I was taught the password and how to operate it by Carmila. Just like last time, I begrudgingly authorized the entrance of outsiders sent by my church, but thankfully this time I was allowed to pick up the ones who most likely would do the job properly. 

—Listen carefully —I said to the four people that had been waiting for me at the entrance—, we are here to retrieve the young lady. I could have done it myself, you are just here because the leaders demanded it, and you might be of some use if we encounter any problem after we leave the mansion. No harm shall fall on anyone here, especially to Madame Rosanne and to the young lady. Disobey me… and you’ll find out exactly what happened to the last idiot they sent. Is that clear?

—Yes, Sister —they all said. 

I guided them to the inside of the mansion, to the second floor, and finally to my Madame’s room, but I freeze as soon as I opened the door. She was awake. 

—Ah, Iridia, good night —she said with a gently smile. She was still lying on her bed, reading a book.

—M-madame?! H-how… 

It was just not possible, I had given her the Doctor’s tea before going to my room, the cup was still on her nightstand, and my rune was working. How could she still be awake??

—Hmmm? Iridia, is something wrong? —she said, getting up.

I had gotten so immersed in my thoughts that I was unable to hide my feelings, had I just smiled and closed the door, we could have aborted the mission and tried other night. But she got up, because she was worried about me, and she saw the people behind me…

—Iridia, what is happening? —she tried to say, before she was hit with something. A dagger, covered with the same paralyzing toxin than before, was now piercing her abdomen. 

—H-huh? W-what? —she managed to say, before slumping back into the ground, barely slowing her fall by hanging on to the side of her bed. 

Right next to me, one of the people who had been following me still was in the same position after having throwing her weapon against my Madame. 

—HOW DARE YOU?!! —I screamed as I took the dagger of another one of them and plunged it directly into his chest.

I wanted to take it out and keep stabbing him, but I didn’t have time. I ran to where she was, lying in the ground, scared and confused.

—I-Iri-Iridia? Wha-what’s going on? It… It hurts…

—It will be fine, everything will be fine —I said, as I treated the wound.

Thankfully it hadn’t gone too deep, and the toxin didn’t seem to affect her, she would have become unconscious right away otherwise. She was certainly blessed by our goddess.

—Madame, you don’t have to worry about anything —I said.

I had removed the dagger and used her blood to draw the rune of “heal” near the wound, which would at least prevent her from bleeding out. I also tried to make her fall asleep by drawing the “sleep” rune directly on her body, but it simply wasn’t working on her. One of my colleagues finally snapped out of it and walked towards the little lady’s crib. 

—Vio-Violett…

—We’ll keep her safe —I said as I stood up. 

There was no point in trying to hide our intentions any more. In that very moment, I saw my Madame realize what was happening. Her face went from pain and confusion to absolute fear, and then… to unbridled fury. 

—DON’T YOU DARE TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!! —she yelled, and I could swear the earth rumbled with each word. 

My colleague actually backed off, shaking. I can’t entirely blame him.

—I… I am very sorry, but I can’t do that. We need her for the greater good. We wanted to train her right here, but some of our leaders fear that you might be a bit too overprotective.

—I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING OF THAT! LEAVE HER ALONE!! …please… not my Violett…

Her words really hurt me, but I couldn’t turn back now. I grabbed the young lady and hurriedly left the room, all while Rosanne kept yelling at us.

—I SWEAR I’M GOING TO FIND ALL OF YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY!! GIVE HER BACK! VIOLETT!!!

The earth shook once more, with enough strength to make me lose my balance for a moment.

—Maa… Maamaaa! —I heard the young lady say as she started to cry. I don’t remember ever hearing her cry. 

The earthquake suddenly stopped, but now the hallway felt cold and the air was stiff. My body felt like it was heavier. I could barely breathe. Two of my colleagues just fainted next to me, and the other fell to her knees and hands. I somehow managed to remain standing, but I had to support myself against the wall. I looked back instinctively, and found a silhouette approaching us slowly from the door that we have just crossed. 

That person was without a shred of doubt, Rosanne Dragonroot, but it also wasn’t her. Her face was expressionless, all the anger she had show us a moment ago was gone. The red in her pupils was glowing as if it was fire, and her hair was waving with an inexistent breeze. But more important than anything, she had two horns sprouting out from her forehead. 

—F A L L —the entity in front of me said, and my knees gave up.

I was sweating and shacking, terrified of the being in front of me. But at the same time, I couldn’t avoid smiling.

—G I V E H E R B A C K—she commanded, and I obliged. 

I let go of the young lady, and she crawled to where the image of her mother was. She picked her up, just as my Madame would, and without any other word, she turned around and returned to her room. 

—W-wait! —I said, trying to force my body to move, but the most I could do was stretch my arm in vain. She was more than blessed by our goddess; that was obvious for me now. We have thought the young lady was her reincarnation, or at least a successor of her power, but we were wrong! My Madame was the one we had been waiting all this time, our goddess Lilith! I couldn’t let this chance slip between my fingers!

—Madame! —I cried out, trying to get her attention.

She stopped, right at the entrance of her room, and threw a glare at me. I felt so insignificant.

—D I S S A P E A R F R O M M Y S I G H T —were her last words to me.

I felt an intense current of air hit me, and I was soon pushed out of the building alongside a portion of the wall, my partners, and several other items that were in that hallway. I passed out before I even hit the ground. How much of a fool I could be, trying to win the favor of a goddess I had just hurt. Not even offering my life was enough… ah, but I would have loved to keep working for you, Madame… so long, and thanks for everything. And from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry.


	19. Animal Instinct.

I had a dream of something that felt as if it had happened a long time ago, in another life so to speak. I had just returned to my department from work, I was taking off my office clothes and getting my computer started, when suddenly I found myself standing in the middle of the ocean, with no land at sight whatsoever. My immediate reaction was, of course, to panic, but I soon came to realize I wasn’t sinking into the water. It wasn’t frozen or anything, I could still put my hands into it and pick the liquid, but every step I took felt as if I was standing on firm ground. The sky was dark, but the moon and the stars lit everything around me pretty well. That’s why it was especially surprising when someone just appeared right in front of me, as if they had materialized out of thin air.

—Good morning —that person said with a big smile.

They looked pretty human, yet there was something odd about them. Their hair was quite long, almost reaching their ankles, and it had the color and shine of emeralds, and their pupils glimmered as if they were made of gold. Their clothes were what I can only describe as a simplistic robe, but it had some symbols on the shoulder that resembled the letters GBMT, but backwards. I couldn’t entirely discern if that person was a man or a woman.

—W-who are you? —I dared to ask—Whe-where am I?

—My name is Enki —they said—, and I have been assigned to protect and nurture this world. I took you from your world and brought you here, so excuse me for that, but I need to ask a favor from you…

Before I could hear or see anything else, I woke up once again, this time in my room as Rosanne. I tried to get up, but my body felt too stiff and heavy. At first, the last thing I could remember was going to my room after Violett’s birthday, and what I had seen in my dreams. But as I came to my senses, the memories of what had happened that night came back to me. I saw Iridia taking Violett away from me, I clenched my teeth and tried to force my body to move, as I felt my insides burning.

—I HAVE TO SAVE MY BABY! —I thought, and was the only thing I could think about at that moment.

Suddenly, something hit my forehead, barely a tap, but I felt as if I had hit my shin. My whole body shuddered and I lost any force I had managed to gather.

—Stay still —a familiar voice said in a commanding voice.

As I turned around, I found the doctor sitting at my side, looking as if he hadn’t sleep in a couple of days.

—B-but… Vio… —I managed to say.

—She is fine, look at your right.

I did as he said, and found out he wasn’t lying. My baby was right there, safe and sound, looking at me from her crib. I tried to get to her, buy my body didn’t react. Maxwell got up and walked towards Violett, reaching into her crib and carried her into my bed. She crawled next to me and put her head over my chest. I couldn’t be happier and more relieved; I started to feel tears rolling down from my eyes.

The Doctor waited until I had calmed down before helping me get a big more upright. He also helped me to eat some kind of purée. I couldn’t smell or taste what it was, though. Come to think of, even my vision was a bit blurry, I could recognize Violett and the doctor, but everything else looked unfocused. Thankfully, this started to fade after a few minutes.

—Your vitals are… decent —Maxwell said, after checking me with the help of Sylphie—, however, your mana flow is completely messed up right now, even worse than after Violett’s birth. It was way worse when I found you, so, let’s hope it can return to normal with enough rest. Your body also suffered from… severe stress, so it might be hard for you to move for some time.

—I understand. Thanks for taking care of me.

—Don’t even mention it— he said, and looked as if deep in thought for a moment—. How… how are you feeling?

Huh? To think that THE Doctor Maxwell Conrad would ask me that was unbelievable. No, he wasn’t asking that as a Doctor, but as a friend…

—I’m… a bit dizzy, and confused. I… was stabbed, right? I don’t really feel pain, did you gave me anesthetics?

He denied it by swinging his head.

—That wound is probably healed by now. It was treated, albeit sloppily, even before I arrived—his face was telling me he wanted to say something more, but didn’t know how to.

—Can you tell me what happened? —I said—, from the start.

He looked at me with a serious expression and nodded.

—When we returned to the city after Violett’s birthday party, the Queen received news from her investigators. They had been unable to find any magic trace of the person that attacked you before, but thanks to your suggestion, they looked for fingerprints in the dart. They found one that didn’t belonged to the previous assailant, and they suspected it was from the one who had planned the attack on the first place. The investigators were able to locate the suspect using spatial magic and the fingerprint, but it took quite a lot of time and effort to make it work, so they only were able to do it the day before that.

—Oh…

The thought of using magic to locate someone from their fingerprint hadn’t crossed my mind at all. I wondered what other “modern idea” could be combined with this world’s innate magic to develop something new. I shook my head and tried to focus, as the Doctor was talking again.

—The investigators went to that place, a little town near the south border. They were undercover and tried to found some information about the suspect from the locals. He was apparently just a butcher, with a wife and a kid, paid his taxes properly, helped his neighbors, and went frequently to his church, nothing out of the ordinary. The investigators went to his house, but he wasn’t there. He was going to meet with some old friends at a nearby bar, but he had left by the time they arrived. They looked all over the town, but he was nowhere to be found. Without a clue about his whereabouts, the investigators came back to the capital to inform the Queen and try to use the spatial magic to find him again. It took them up until very late that night, but they found him… right in this house —he said, and took a moment to breathe—, the Queen came running to my house with a small army following her, and we got here as soon as we could. We found Adrian and every kelpie at the pier fast asleep, and even we were hit by a heavy tiredness, but the Queen was able to shield us from it. We found the suspect and his companions in the woods, and alongside them was one of your attendants, Iridia…

—Is she…?—I tried to ask, but couldn’t finish that sentence.

—She and the intruders were all alive… well, except the one we found inside of your room. Their skins had slight and moderate burns, depending on how much clothing they were wearing, but their biggest injuries were broken bones and impacted organs from when they were thrown from the second floor alongside with a chunk of the wall.

—T-the wall? —I said, not entirely understanding what he meant.

—Yes, but it had been fixed already, don’t worry. But I digress; they all have woken up, except for Iridia. Her injuries were more severe, and she was in a critical condition until very recently. At first we believed she had been helping you and got hurt doing so. After all, her fingerprints were on the dagger of the one assailant that was killed. But then we found a sleep rune under her bed, and that she recently went to the same place where the investigators had located the suspect the first time. So, was she…?

—Yes. She was working with them. They wanted to take Violett away for —I paused, my memories of that night were too muddled—… I don’t even know why.

—I figured that much, but with your confirmation, her trial will be more easily.

—I see… Wait, but then what happened? The last thing I remember is that they had Violett, I was hurt and couldn’t move at all, then…

I tried to remember, but all I could see was black.

—Who stopped them? —I murmured.

—Isn’t it obvious? —a new voice said, coming from someone standing next to the door of my room.

It was a woman, wearing clothes befitting an adventurer like Anna and her family. I was sure I hadn’t seen her before, but her appearance was somewhat familiar. Was she there all the time since I woke up or she arrived just in time?

—Rosanne —the doctor said, with a bit of a downer tone—, allow me to present you the bodyguard I got from you, Alyssa Greenhood. She is quite a handful, but she WILL keep you safe from now on.

—Shush your mouth, son of man, the dragons are talking —she smugly said as she approached us.

—I-It’s nice to meet you, I am Rosanne Dragonroot. You must be the one that saved Violett, right?

—Nope, I just got here two nights ago.

—Mmm? Two nights? —I murmured.

Those words gave me the impression that more time had happened since that night, I didn’t had any idea of how long I had been unconscious. There were more pressing matters though.

—Then… who did it?

She pointed in my direction, and I instinctively looked behind, but there was only a wall there. There was no one else in the room either; my vision had cleared enough to be sure of that. Not even Violett was where she was pointing towards.

—W-wait, you wouldn’t mean… me, right?

—That’s exactly what I mean; you are a dragon after all. Beating that scum would be an easy task even for the weakest of us. And you are THE Dragonroot.

—No. No, no, no, no. I’m pathetically weak and without a trace of mana, there is no way I could have done that. And you keep talking as if I was an actual dragon, that’s just the name of my family.

Violett might be able to raise an army of dragons in the future, and my predecessors had some skills and powers vaguely related to dragons, but that’s entirely different from being an actual dragon.

—Pffft, Hahahahahahahahahahaha! —Alyssa burst into a hearty laugh—, p-please, tell me you are joking —she added between wheezing.

When she managed to calm down, and after taking a very deep look at my face, she became convinced that I wasn’t joking.

—By our mother, I have heard rumors about you, but I never expected you to be this ignorant —she said with a huge smile.

The Doctor threw a glare at her, but she was completely unfazed by it.

—Fine, let me explain it to you. We ARE dragons, this appearance is something we made to blend in with the humans. We all come from the first dragon, Lilith, much like how all humans are descendants of the first Eve. But you are the last on a line of first daughters of the previous generation, all the way to Lilith herself. That’s why you are the Dragonroot, you represent the root of all dragons.

—I am a dragon? T-that’s a bit hard to believe…

—Hmmm… I suppose I could jump through the window and transform into one, but that would just prove that I am a dragon. And I suspect that the Doctor here wouldn’t appreciate that, would he? —he said, getting closer to Maxwell—, so I guess it is time to show them to her.

—S-show me what?

The doctor looked unsure of what to do for a moment, but at the end he took out a handkerchief wrapped around something from his bag, and placed it in front of me.

—When I found you that night, you were lying in the floor, hugging Violett as if your life depended on it, and covered in blood. And you had these sprouting from your forehead…

He opened the improvised package and revealed something that at first I thought were crystals, but I came to realize they were horns. An image popped up in my head, I was seeing me but from out of my body. Those horns were indeed coming out of my forehead, and my eyes… they were so…

My head hurt and I couldn’t breathe, I was feeling as if I was sinking into myself. But then I felt a tiny hand touching my cheeks, and I was able to snap out of it. Violett was there, looking at me with a slightly angry expression, demanding my attention. I forced my arms to move, and I hugged her.


End file.
